There have been some quality metal releases coming across from Ireland over the past few years. Many of these have been self-financed and self released, as the mainstream metal labels don't seem to have picked up on the underground swell of talent.
They would do well to take a closer look at some of these bands including Dublin's folk/black metal act
Celtachor. Since forming in 2007 they have been honing a fiercely independent sound steeped in the folklore of the Emerald Isle.
Irish bands have always had a knack of mixing their lands folk tales with heavy metal; just one listen to Thin Lizzy's Black Rose or Primordial's A Journey's End will confirm this fact. It makes perfect sense as the tales of great battles, doomed romance, fierce beasts and uuhhh... games of chess make the perfect foil for heavy metal's bombastic nature.
For their latest demo
In The Halls Of Our Ancient Fathers Celtachor have decided to concentrate on the God Lugh, one of the High King's of Ireland. These seven tracks weave tales of the rise of Lugh and his battles against the Fomorians to great effect. The lyrics are all well written and meticulously researched and I can recommend checking out the stories behind them, interesting stuff indeed.
The bands style can be thought of as close to
Immortal minus the blastbeats and latter day Darkthrone, that area where black metal meets punk rock without ever straying into the realms of "black 'n' roll". Added to this is the requisite dash of
Iron Maiden and a very strong Celtic feeling that flows through the music and helps the band to forge their own identity.
Being a self-released demo the sound is a bit rougher than you may be used to. This can been seen by the fact the vocals are quite high in the mix and tend to dominate whenever Steven Roche unleashes his mighty, throat ripping scream. This isn't all a bad thing however; the record would suffer if you were unable to discern what the songs were about.
The musicianship is impressive despite the roughly hewn production Dave Quinn is an adept guitarist who trades in the fine art of strident metal riffing influenced by the style of Bathory's Viking era and Chareyre Anais can pound the drum kit with a vengeance. Bassist Emile Quigley is the only one who really suffers as for the most part his bass lines are buried in the mix.
The release opens with the short, ominous keyboard intro
Nemed's Wake before the
Rise Of Lugh begins things in earnest with some vociferous riffs and Steven's commanding rasped vocals. This song along with several others contains some tin whistle playing which adds a folky edge to the music and helps to drag your mind back to a time long forgotten.
It's a very effective instrument and helps forge a link between other bands that utilise the same tool to give a heightened sense of heritage including fellow countrymen Cruachan and Ulstermen Waylander. It's also slightly reminiscent of that most revered of folk metal acts Skyclad.
There are many great moments on the CD,
A Warning To Balor is the shortest song on offer but has some really intense black metal riffing and a nice "calm before the storm" guitar break in the middle.
Riders Of The Fomor is bludgeoning in its intensity, pausing only for a atmospheric tin whistle section in the middle of the track. The chorus of
"Rise, Fomorion's Rise" is one that is sure to work well in a live setting.
Closer
The Wavesweeper is also mightily impressive as it seeks to add a dose of death/doom metal into the mix and achieves this with ease. It combines this new influence to the bands existing repertoire expertly and confirms what all proceeding tracks had pointed to, that
Celtachor are a very talented band indeed.
In The Halls Of Our Fathers is an exciting release that not only stands up to repeated listens but due to the concept behind the songs actually grows on the listener to such a degree that one feels the urge to bellow about Lugh travelling to the island of long-haired women while walking down the street! Highly recommended.
Written by
Stuart Saturday, April 16, 2011
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