CRUACHAN (black celtic)
Cruachan
is a Celtic metal band from Dublin, Ireland formed in 1992 and reformed in 1999, accredited with being one of the founders of the genre - Folk Metal.
Keith Fay had formed a Tolkien-inspired black metal band by the name of Minas Tirith in 1991. Around the same time, he began listening to more folk music and picked up Skyclad's debut album The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth. Originally released in 1990, this "ambitious" and "groundbreaking" album[2] made an impact on Fay and he set out to combine black metal with the folk music of Ireland. In 1992, Keith Fay formed Cruachan with a demo recording distributed in 1993.[3] Keith Fay also credits the Irish rock band Horslips as a "huge influence on Cruachan," further noting that "what they were doing in the 70's is the equivalent of what we do now."
The year 1995 saw the release of Cruachan's debut album Tuatha Na Gael, an album that "suffered under poor production." On the strength of this album, the band received attention from Century Media Records. The band found it amazing to receive interest from "such a big label" but were dismayed at the terms and conditions of the offered recording deal.[5] They refused to sign a "very poor contract" that would have gave the record label "the rights to change every aspect of our music." After "lengthy negotiations failed to yield a deal with Century Media Records," the band disbanded in 1997.
Cruachan reformed in January 1999 and after signing a recording deal with Hammerheart Records, they released a second album The Middle Kingdom in 2000.
By this time, the band had dropped the black metal style in favor of a more traditional metal sound.[4] They also expanded the roster by inviting a guest vocalist Karen Gilligan to be a full fledged member of the group.[5] Their subsequent album Folk-Lore was co-produced by Shane McGowan of The Pogues fame. Shane McGowan also contributed vocals to two covers of traditional Irish songs, "Spancill Hill" and "Ride On."The latter was released as a single and the band experienced a small taste of commercial success when it entered the Irish charts.
Cruachan has since been acclaimed as having "gone the greatest lengths of anyone in their attempts to expand" the genre of folk metal. With a specific focus on Celtic music and the use of Celtic mythology in their lyrics, Cruachan's style of folk metal is known today as Celtic metal.
Discography
Studio albums
Tuatha Na Gael (1995, re-released in 2001)
The Middle Kingdom (2000)
Folk-Lore (2002)
Pagan (2004)
The Morrigan's Call (2006)
Singles
Ride On (2001)
The Very Wild Rover (2006)
Demos
Celtica (Demo, 1994)
Promo '97 (Demo, 1997, also included with 2001 re-release of Tuatha Na Gael)
Compilations
A Celtic Trilogy (2002 boxed set of Tuatha Na Gael, The Middle Kingdom and Folk-Lore in picture LP format, limited to 500 copies)
A Celtic Legacy (2007)
Line-up
Current members
Karen Gilligan – vocals, percussion
Keith Fay – guitars, keyboards, vocals, bodhrán, mandolin, percussion
John Clohessy – bass
Colin Purcell – drums, percussion
John Ryan Will – tin whistle, violin, banjo, bouzouki, keyboards
John O' Fathaigh - tin whistle
Past members
Joe Farrell
Jay Brennan
Collette Uí Fathaigh
Leon Bias
Aisling Hanrahan
Joanne Hennessy
Steven Anderson
Darryl Conlan
Jay O' Neill
Steven Coleman
Declan Cassidy
Paul Kearns
Edward Gilbert
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