Artist: Celtachor
Album: Nine Waves from the Shore
Release Date: November 25, 2012 (self-released)
Rating: 4/5
To be completely honest, I've never actively listened to Celtachor before. I've come across a song or two before they had their first album out, but since it wasn't exactly my cup of tea, they've never entered my 'favourites list'. Now that I've got an opportunity to write a review for their newest, first full-length album - Nine Waves from the Shore, I've come to think that, even though the genre still doesn't suit me much, it is definitely an album that should not be ignored by any (folk) metal fan.
As I started listening to the album, I thought this would be yet another variation of the pagan/black mixture, and I was right. However, what puts this album at the top is the fresh use of Cetic elements and mythology as the album's main themes. Most of this kind of metal we hear nowadays comes from Scandinavia, putting it on the quite shaky verge of entering monotony what with all the Viking themes. This album, on the other hand, provides just enough folk elements (if I'm not mistaken, they use the bodhran - which is a type of traditional Irish drum, and the tin whistle), engulfed in fiery riffs. This is all so well done that it's never overwhelming the listener. There's even an interesting introduction of a guitar solo in the song Sorrow of the Dagda, which complements the song just perfectly.
The opening and closing parts of the album are quite strong in riffs and screams, as contrasted to an increase in the folk and acoustic elements throughout the middle. Namely, the song called Tar Éis An Sidhe, an acoustic piece, balances perfectly between all the riffs and drumming. However, this is where the band might have made a crucial mistake while making the album. Although the song is quite nice, it lacks in magnificence that we've become used to when it comes to acoustic parts of black metal albums. I always think of Satyricon's first album and the track named Min Hyllest Til Vinterland, which absolutely blew my mind the first time I listened to it, and still does. Compared to pieces as that one, and many other, Tar Éis An Sidhe is not quite a memorable track, and at parts yearns for softer vocals or whispers, even perhaps female guest vocals.
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Folk lover as I am, I have to say that my favourite parts of the album definitely include the tribal elements, the soothing whistle, and definitely the themes of the songs. Unfortunately, I don't know much about Irish mythology, but works like this will definitely bring this part of their history a step closer to us. According to the band, "the concept for the album deals with the Landing of the Gael and the main heroes and characters as part of that saga. The artwork was painted by the band's drummer Anais Chareyre. It depicts the Battle of Tailtin, the armies of the Men of Dea against the Men of the Gael being over watched by the goddess Danu rising from the hills and mountains of Eire".
To conclude my views on Celtachor, I present you my album favourite, The Kingship of Bodb Dearg, which beautifully incorporates an acoustic intro with a tin whistle tune, later on showing off with quite nice drumming following the lines "The war drums echo to the chants of the druids". The song tells the story of Bodb Dearg being choosen as the king of Tuatha Dé Danann, a race of people in Irish Mythology.
Celtachor - The Kingship of Bodb Dearg (audio)
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