Self Released 2012
1.The Landing: Amergin's Conquest 2.The Battle Of Tailtin
3.The Kingdom Of Bodh Dearg 4.Sorrow Of The Dagda 5.Tar Eis An Sidhe
6.Conn Of The Hundred Battles 7.Annan: Ermme's Daughter
As opening track 'The
Landing: Amergin's Conquest' slowly gathers momentum the pacey black
metal leads the track, with not much of the bands folk element to be
heard so far. When Stephen's harsh screamed black metal vocals are added,
this only takes the bands sound further into the melodic, yet harsh
black metal sound. It's only with the introduction of the whistles
further into the track that you can begin to appreciate the other side to the band, namely their
folk and Celtic musical inspirations which really sit comfortably
amongst the heavy black metal music. There's a massive hint of groove
in the guitar work as well which really gets the head nodding,
especially when the haunting sound of the whistles are added. It
builds quite a unique atmosphere. It's good that the band has decided
to use the whistles sparingly, not over-burdening the song. 'The
Battle Of Tailtin' begins in similar fashion to the opener, heavy yet
melodic guitar riffs really give the start to this song an epic feel.
It's almost like you could ride into battle listening to this,
sword aloft charging at the enemy. The song does actually break out
into a whistle and drum interlude with the sounds of battle in the
background, swords clashing and warriors screaming. Very short, but
very apt given that the song the returns to the epic sound heard
earlier. Tempo wise, its slow to mid-paced which suits the overall
sound and groove to the guitars. Blast beats just wouldn't do the
music justice at all. 'The Kingship Of The Bodh Dearg' is a little
different, beginning with a whistle and drum introduction. This is
where the Celtic/Folk element to the band is undoubtedly in full flow
and this theme is continued throughout much of the track, especially
the whistles which tend to take a leading role here, being used as
leads almost (where most metal bands would use lead guitars/solos). For
the most, a slower pace is utilised well and again, the groove to the
heavier rhythm guitars remains black metal, but set to a slower,
almost doom like pace. This pace is also well suited when the
whistles are introduced, allowing them to build the haunting and
enchanting atmospheres.
Acoustic guitars introduce 'Sorrow Of The
Dagda', building the tension of the song nicely which allows the
heavier black metal styles to come bellowing in brilliantly.
Musically, this track is as Black Metal as the band has sounded so
far, there seems to be a real harshness to the riffing and the vocals
are definitely delivered with more spite, anger and hatred in them.
This also works well when the whistles are added sporadically, very
different musical entities being brought together very well. As
before, the pace is again slowed right down and as before, this
slower paces works well, adding a really epic feel to proceedings.
There is almost a sense of despair, a sense of loss and grief to this
track, definitely one of the more sombre moments to this album. 'Tar
Eis An Sidhe' acts as a melodic interlude, acoustic guitars taking
the lead and being accompanied by the whistles every now and again.
As a stand alone piece of music it works very well, providing
something slightly different from the rest of the album. However,
when brought into context, as a song on this album, due to the
stripped back nature and simplicity, it lasts for a very long time
(nearly six minutes), maybe a bit too long.
'Conn Of The Hundred
Battles' is a very groove laden affair, some of the guitar riffs
having an almost 70's rock sound to them which might not sit too
comfortably with black/folk metal fans but to be fair,the groovier
sections do sit well in amongst the more black and folk metal
orientated guitar work. And the screamed vocals obviously ensure that
the song does remain extreme. Closing the album is 'Anaan: Ermnes
Daughter' which is a really epic sounding track and a great way to end
proceedings. The pace upped slightly to give this final track a real
sense of urgency. And even when the band drops off the pace, the epic
nature of the music keeps your attention. Celtachor have certainly succeed
in mixing paces and styles brilliantly, moving from the faster
mid-paced sections to the slower, more epic doom sounding styles well
and this makes for an extremely entertaining album. There are as
many folk elements to this album as was expected, whistles are used
throughout but in just enough measure so as not to over-power the
songs and take the attention away from the bands brand of black
metal. Folk metal may not be to everyones taste, but Celtachor keep
their music well into the melodic black metal genre and thus will not
alienate fans of black metal with the 'Folk' tag. Nine Waves From The
Shore proves itself to be an extremely well written, well played
black/folk metal album which is packed full of atmosphere and
emotion. An enjoyable listen which should be considered if
you're 'after something familiar, but also a bit different', it comes well
recommended.
8 out of 10