Cruachan (Band)
Cruachan is an Irish folk metal band from Dublin, which was founded in 1992. The band's name comes from the ancient capital of Connacht, Cruachan, which is located in what is now part of the country Roscommon. Nearby also is the Cruachan cave.
Together with Primordial and Waylander it is considered a pioneer band of Celtic Metal.
History
Cruachan was founded in 1992 by Keith Fay, after which his band Minas Tirith had dissolved. The end of 1993 demo Celtica, which made inter alia the German label Nazgul 's Eyrie Productions aware of them appeared. 1994 signed a recording contract with Cruachan Nazgul 's Eyrie Productions. On 30 April 1995 the Celtic feast of Beltane, the debut album Tuatha na Gael appeared. Since the label was very small and Tuatha na Gael sold surprisingly well, all copies of the CD were sold very quickly.
In 1997, Cruachan with the new singer Aisling Hanrahan the Promo Promo '97, with which they drew attention to themselves Century Media. Cruachan refused a record deal with Century Media, as they feared that the successful label would have too much influence on the artistic work. Mid-1997, Cruachan disbanded due to personal differences.
In 1999, Keith Fay and John Fay decided to revive the band. The Dutch label Hammerheart Records signed a contract with the reunited band and in June 2000 released their second album The Middle Kingdom. A year later, the rare debut album was re- published together with the pieces of the Promo '97 by Hammerheart Records.
Folklore, the third studio album, was released in 2002. As a producer, Shane MacGowan was hired by The Pogues, who also appears in the song Ride On as a guest singer.
After several concerts and festivals where Cruachan partially occurred even as the headliner, the fourth studio album Pagan was released in April 2004. On this album was followed by two headlining tours through Russia and through Europe in 2005. During the same year, the band also signed a contract with AFM Records.
The fifth studio album The Morrigan 's Call was released in 2006 and is so far the best-selling album of the band.
In early 2010 Cruachan separated from AFM Records. At this time, the singer Karen Gilligan left the band. However, it decided not to seek new female singer and instead music with extreme folk metal more turn to the early albums.
With Candlelight Records, the band found a new label in the summer of 2010. The recordings for the new album, Blood on the Black Robe, began in November 2010. It was published as planned, on 18 April 2011.
Style
Cruachan played at the beginning of Pagan Metal with Celtic -inspired tunes on appropriate instruments; influenced the band was, among other things. Skyclad of the first albums and Horslips, beyond Bathory Viking metal albums, Isengard and Storm Since the Promo '97 the music was clearly more melodic. Female vocals are increasingly coming to the fore, so that are the exception to The Morrigan 's Call black -metal- like passages.
The lyrics are inspired by Celtic mythology (accordingly refers to the song To Invoke the Horned God from the debut on the Celtic deity Cernunnos, not Satan), but sometimes also very political. Many texts speak of the Celtic past, for example, the song Cattle Raid of Cooley (German, Cattle Raid of Cooley '). Some other songs are from Tolkien 's universe, such as The Fall of Gondolin or Sauron. Likewise, the band played the old Irish play The March of Brian Boru after the debut.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
- 2001: Ride On
- 2006: The Very Wild Rover
Demos
Compilations
- 2002: A Celtic Trilogy (3- CD box set of Tuatha Na Gael, The Middle Kingdom and Folk -Lore as Picture- LP, limited to 500 copies )
- 2007: A Celtic Legacy