REVIEW: CRUACHAN – Blood on the Black Robe

 

CRUACHAN – Blood on the Black Robe (2011)

Candlelight Records

There are so many pagan and Viking metal bands out there. So many guys and girls dress like Vikings, Celts, ancient Greeks and Romans, creating an impressive visual image around their music. All this is nice to watch, but most of the time the music itself cannot really support the image. Either it becomes too happy, too predictable or simply boring, with melodies that make you think one band is borrowing from another to the point where they all start sounding the same.

CRUACHAN, however, are a different story. With Blood on the Black Robe, their sixth full-length album, the Irish band demonstrate why they have always been one of the more distinctive names in Celtic folk metal. Originally released in 2011 through Candlelight Records, the album combines Celtic folk influences with traditional heavy metal and darker black metal elements, while keeping the metal side of the music firmly at its centre.

This is one of the things that works particularly well here. CRUACHAN do not simply place folk instruments over a metal background in order to create an exotic atmosphere. The whistles, fiddles, mandolin, bouzouki, percussion and other traditional elements are incorporated into the compositions and used to enrich the metal foundation. The result is a sound that can be aggressive and dark without losing its Celtic character.

The other positive element is the way the band combines traditional metal, black metal and folk melodies. Blood on the Black Robe can become heavy and aggressive, but it also has an epic character, with several songs built around strong, almost war-like melodies and memorable vocal passages. Tracks such as “I Am Warrior” and “The Column” have that particular battle-anthem feeling, while “The Voyage of Bran” and “An Bean Sidhe” demonstrate the more atmospheric and traditionally Celtic side of the band. The album also includes the instrumental “Brian Boru’s March”, adding another dimension to the overall sequence.

CRUACHAN also avoid one of the biggest problems of the folk metal genre: sounding exactly like everybody else. Their music has enough variety to move between darker black metal passages, traditional metal riffs, Celtic melodies and more atmospheric sections without losing its identity. The heavier approach of this particular album is especially noticeable, giving the record a darker and more aggressive character than some of the band's earlier material. At the same time, the folk elements remain an essential part of the compositions rather than merely decoration.

Another interesting aspect of Blood on the Black Robe is the presence of Karen Gilligan, who had previously been a full-time vocalist with the band. Although she was no longer a permanent member by this point, she returned as a guest on several tracks, including “An Bean Sidhe” and “The Voyage of Bran”. Her contributions provide an additional contrast to Keith Fay's predominantly harsher vocal approach and work particularly well where the music moves towards its more traditional and atmospheric side.

 

The lyrical and thematic side of the album also remains closely connected to Ireland, its history, mythology and pagan traditions. Songs such as “The Voyage of Bran” draw on Irish mythology, while other material deals with historical conflicts and the relationship between paganism, Christianity and Ireland's past. This gives the music a stronger sense of identity than the generic medieval or Viking imagery that is often found elsewhere in the genre.

Finally, in my opinion, CRUACHAN are one of the very few bands that have managed to approach, in their own way, the greatness and authenticity of the good old SKYCLAD. They understand that folk music should not simply be used as a costume for metal. It has to become part of the music itself. That is exactly where CRUACHAN succeed: the traditional elements are not there merely to create an image, but to give the songs their character.

So, the conclusion is quite simple. If you want to listen to epic Celtic folk metal that combines metal aggression with traditional melodies, Blood on the Black Robe is a release that deserves your attention. It has the darkness of black metal, the weight of traditional metal and the unmistakable character of Irish folk music, while CRUACHAN's own identity remains present throughout the album.

Along with SUIDAKRA's contemporary work, this is the kind of folk metal that, for me, proves there is much more to the genre than costumes, medieval imagery and melodies copied from one band to another.

Nick Parastatidis