Cruachan/Blood On The Black Robe/Candlelight Records/2011 CD Review

  Cruachan are a band from Ireland that has had an album reviewed in this zine in the past, with a style that mixes pagan/Celtic/folk music with black and traditional metal and this is a review of their 2011 album "Blood On The Black Robe" which will be released by Candlelight Records.

Drums alternate between slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast beats, while the various folk instruments bring a medieval folk music feel to the music, as for the bass playing it has a very dark, powerful and distorted tone with some heavy riffing.

Rhythm guitars alternate between slow, mid paced and fast riffing that combines black metal and traditional metal together with a good amount of melody, while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding without a lot of guitar solos, since the music concentrates mostly on rhythm, as for the acoustic guitars when they are utilized briefly they use full chords to enhance the darkness of the music.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams with some occasional clean singing female vocals that bring an esoteric New Age feel to the music, while the lyrics cover Irish Paganism, Folklore, Mythology and History with some anti- Christian themes, as for the production, it has a very heavy and professional feel to it.

In my opinion this is another great album from Cruachan and it is their heaviest and most black metal sounding album in years, while still retaining the folk elements and if you are a fan of their previous albums, you will not be disappointed. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "I Am Warrior" "Blood On The Black Robe" "The Voyage Of Bran" and "Pagan Hate". RECOMMENDED BUY.

http://cruachan.metalfan.nl

Cruachan/Pagan/Candlelight U.S.A/2004 CD Review

  Cruachan are a pagan/folk metal band from Ireland and this is a review of their 2004 album "Pagan" which was released by Candlelight U.S.A.

Drums are mostly mid paced beats with some percussion being used at times while the flute gives the music an Irish folk music feel, and there a lot of different instruments being used on this album such as bouzouki, Mandolin, Banjo, Cello, uillean pipes, fiddle and the Bodhran which brings out of the feel of being at an Irish festival drinking a Guinness.

Keyboards when they are utilized give the music an atmospheric feel while the bass playing is all rhythm bass that follows the riffs coming out of the guitars with a very powerful and dark sound.

Rhythm guitars use a lot of heavy riffs that are influenced by both death metal and black metal with a lot of melody being utilized and some thrash riffing, there is not a lot of lead guitars being used on this recording, as for the acoustic guitars when they are used utilize a lot of open chords and is used more as a background.

Male vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams with some deep death metal growls as well as some cleaning, while the female vocals are clean sung with a lot of melody and a folk music feel, as for the lyrics they cover Irish paganism, with some other topics being discussed such as folklore, Lord Of The Rings trilogy, The war between the British army and fighting vikings, as for the production on this recording which was recorded and mixed in Sonic Studios in Dublin, Ireland during 1993 sounds very professional and you can hear all of the instruments.

In my opinion Cruachan are a very talented band and if you are a fan of folk metal you probably have already heard this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Pagan" "Some Say The Devil Is Dead" and "Erinsong". RECOMMENDED BUY>

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