Cruachan - Folk-Lore
Karmageddon Media Horst: Cruachan is an Irish band who are walking kind of the same paths like the German In Extremo : they both make a mix of Metal and ancient folk music, but were In Extremo chose for modern versions of ancient tunes from the European continent, Cruachan does its thing with Celtic Influences, with only every now and then a real ‘traditional’ for most of their songs they write themselves. At the end of this month their third full-length will be released, entitled ‘Folk-Lore’. This album is the logical follow-up for ‘The Middle Kingdom’ (released back in 2000), or in other words: music written on a foundation of metal bass, guitar and drums, but added to it ancient Celtic and Irish instruments like Tin whistle, Irish Flute, Bódhran (an ancient hand-held goatskin drum), Uilleann pipes (or elbow pipes, like the traditional bag pipes, but instead of blowing, a bellows is used to pump air into the bag), Harp, Bouzouki (originally a Greek guitar, it has been adopted into Irish and Scottish music). Besides the use of these instruments the songs are written in a very traditional way, so I’m almost tempted to say that it’s Celtic folk music with Metal influences. Anyway, the production is way better this time, and the fact that the band exists for two years now in this line-up is definitely a plus (more about that you can read in the interview with the band that will feature in our February issue). Special guest on ‘Folk-Lore’ is the Irish legend Shane MacGowan (The Pogues), who does the vocals on ‘Spancill Hill’ and ‘Ride On’ (the two ‘traditionals’ on the CD). The only problem with the album is that it lasts a bit too long, for after six or seven songs the trick is known, and you get a little bit bored with all the flutes and stuff. On the other hand, it has some great sing along tunes for in the pub… Rating: 78/100
http://cruachan.cjb.net/
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