Cruachan
Folk-Lore

THE REVIEW

The Cruachan were born in the early 90s in Ireland based on an idea by Keith Fay, the leader, the Alessandro del Piero of the situation, a true innovator of Folk Metal, and probably the inventor of Celtic Metal, one of its subgenres, a combo of Celtic music (Keith Fay himself is a singer and player, along with other band members, of various folk instruments such as flutes, bouzouki, bodhràn, and mandolins) and Heavy/Death metal.

The debut album, Tuatha Na Gael (1995), is certainly very positive and well-received by critics, but the Celtic influences are scarce and often overshadowed by Black Metal (except in a few episodes, such as the chilling song Brian Boru!!!) and for this reason, I cannot fully appreciate this album. The work that excites me the most is "Folk-Lore," the third release by the Irish, where the atmospheres become lighter, more evocative, and relaxing, also thanks to the band's new addition, singer Karen Gilligan, who provides a touch of sweetness to the compositions. "Folk-lore" still features many metallic sections, where the riffs range from Black to pure Heavy, which could have been played by a slightly pissed off Tommy Iommy.

The Irish bards begin their work by singing about one of the greatest massacres in Ireland: Bloody Sunday. On the tragic day of January 30, 1972, during a peaceful demonstration, 13 civilians lost their lives, attacked by the British army. Many witnesses who did not take part in the incidents, including some journalists, stated that the protesters hit were unarmed. To this day, serious judicial measures still need to be taken to archive the case, thus carrying out proper justice (sadly, justice is a rather abstract thing unfortunately). Unlike many of their folk-metal counterparts, Cruachan show themselves to be not only tied to the usual, trivial, boring, and banal themes (hail war, swords, blood, glory through the ages, beer, and our mythical and heroic ancestors) but also become proponents of true pieces of social criticism.

The album continues with tracks that are never boring, predictable, or banal but very varied and interesting. Among the best songs, I highlight two reworkings of traditional Irish songs: The Rocky Road To Dublin and Spancil Hill. Even though these two pieces are reinterpreted in a metal key, they manage to maintain the energy, joy, and the irresistible urge to move your butt that phenomenal Irish ballads give to listeners (if you want to listen to another reworking of an Irish tradition in Cruachan style, I recommend Some Say The Devil Is Dead, present in the album "Pagan"). However, the real masterpieces of the album are other tracks, such as the moving Susie Moran, the relaxing, evocative, and at the same time energetic Death Of A Gael, and especially the extraordinary Ride On. The piece starts with a flute. After a short solo, a pleasant acoustic arpeggio, a sad violin, the excellent Joe Farrel's drums, and Karen Gillan's singing are layered over the basic melody. The emotional peak of the track and the entire album comes with the excellent chorus, a duet between the female and male voice:

Ride on, see you, I could never go with you
No matter how I wanted to.

In summary, it can be safely said that "Folk-Lore" is one of the freshest, most original, engaging, and best accomplished albums of the Folk-Metal movement, and can therefore be safely enjoyed by everyone, even by listeners who do not particularly love the genre. I therefore suggest buying the CD, or downloading it from eMule, or if really looking for something on YouTube (if my grandfather could read a sentence like this, he would surely think of locking me up in some asylum).

With this, I think I've said everything, thank you for the time you've dedicated to me, and God willing, I'll see you tomorrow.