CRUACHAN mit neuem Song feat. La Rage von Venom
Die Irish Folk-Metal Pioniere CRUACHAN veröffentlichen neuen Song.
24.02. CRUACHAN – "The Witch"feat. La Rage von Venom (Despotz Records/Rough Trade)
https://youtu.be/41ktUz173F4
"The Witch" ab sofort erhältlich:
https://ingrv.es/the-witch-688-f
ALBUM: 24.03. CRUACHAN – "The Living and The Dead" (Despotz Records/Rough Trade)
Album Pre-Order:
https://despotz.bigcartel.com/artist/cruachan
Bereits veröffentlicht:
CRUACHAN – "The Reaper"
https://youtu.be/SmLMysw-RTM
CRUACHAN – "The Crow"
https://youtu.be/pW8uG7CeciQ
"From the uplifting excitement and energy of track one, The Living, this album grabs your heart and mind then drags them on a fantastic journey through haunting and foreboding stories put to sublimely beautiful folk and aggressive metal, constantly interweaving until we reach.... The Dead"
- Jon Campling / Actor (Harry Potter, Final Fantasy)
CRUACHAN – "Hawthorn"
https://youtu.be/y3VCWpULGNI
‘From the opening blast of 'The Living' to the final lament of 'The Dead', the Living and the Dead is everything you want from Cruachan and more. 12 tracks of Blistering riffs, magnificent melodies, and bewitchment.’ - Stu 'La Rage' Dixon / Venom
‘The Witch’, the fourth and last single from Irish folk-metal pioneers Cruachan before the upcoming album ‘The Living and the Dead’ March 24th. It's a wonderful blend of the band’s hardest metal riffs and hauntingly beautiful folk and traditional instruments.
Keith Fay about the new song:
"The Witch is a very unique song on the album and probably not what people will be expecting. Lyrically, I wanted to tell a story of a modern pagan witch that represents modern independent women, you could call this song our feminist anthem and we really hope that our female fans will feel empowered by the song and the lyrics. Musically we had a really fun time with this, I wanted something very different and so, we paid homage to the Irish legends Thin Lizzy. It's still very Cruachan but you can hear the Thin Lizzy vibes throughout the song. Finally, I thought this song needs a big, old school guitar solo and who better to do this than our very special guest - Venom's Stu 'La Rage' Dixon. All of this combines into a really fun and stand out song!"
Ireland’s Cruachan have enjoyed a storied career since they took those tentative first steps back in 1992. As frontman and sole original member Keith Fay elaborates; ‘When I started writing music as a 13-year-old, I had no idea that I was laying the foundations for what would become a brand-new genre, Folk Metal, or that I was planting the seeds of what would be one of the longest running Irish metal bands in history. There have been many ups and downs over the last thirty years, band members have come and gone, record deals have come and gone. We've played some of the biggest metal festivals on the planet, travelled to more countries than most Irish bands would ever dream possible. And it has all led to this - our ninth album, 'The Living and the Dead'.’
A man whose vision and passion for his band has never wavered in the ensuing three decades, Cruachan’s place in, not only in metal history, but that of Ireland’s musical landscape, has been hard earned and hard fought. But Fay was always confident that he and the band would always deliver. ‘This album had to be good. No, it had to be better than good. This had to be the best Cruachan album ever made. I faced a decision in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, when three band members left the band. ‘Do I call it a day? or do I press on with the mammoth task of replacing everyone’. There was no real decision to be made, I worked way too hard over the years to allow Cruachan to fizzle out. I had been writing some of the best music of my career in recent years. I secured a record deal with a label (Sweden’s Despotz Records) that understood exactly what Cruachan and my vision is’.
‘How many words do you want in this quote, Keith? Because I could go on all day about how f**king good this album is’. - Gareth Murdock / Alestorm
With the deal signed, talk obviously turned to new music. ‘The new album only existed in my head but he still pushed me to get a single out. We recorded The Hawthorn and the reaction was immense.’ Buoyed by the amazing reaction to the single, Fay recruited new members for Cruachan in ‘record time’. ‘Joe Farrell had already re-joined Cruachan on bass at the start of 2020, apart from being one of my oldest friends, he was also my rock during this time. Tom (Woodlock), one of the best metal drummers in Ireland, joined us early in 2020. I've known Dave Quinn for many years so was a relief that I didn't need to audition for guitarists, he came in and was a natural fit for the band. I did advertise for a folk instrumentalist and had a few interesting applications. Audrey sent me a mail with some links to her playing. My jaw literally dropped and I recruited her right away. She has been playing violin since the age of 4, the quality she brings to every aspect of Cruachan is beyond compare, from our folky stuff to our classical stuff, it has all just moved to a level I never thought possible.’
‘It was a pleasure to be a part of this project, the fusion of heavy metal and folk music on this album is furious, organic, and natural. Folk metal fans are in for a treat.’ - Camillus Hiney / The Fureys
New line-up in place, and a clutch of songs Fay felt were among the strongest he’d ever written for the band, the time came to enter the studio to work on what would become ‘The Living and the Dead’. ‘Finally, in April 2022, we entered Trackmix studios to start recording. The quality and maturity of our new material was obvious right away. There have always been elements of classical music in Cruachan's material but I explored this a lot more on some of the new songs. The honesty and credibility in the finished songs takes my breath away.
‘This album has everything from groovy death to the folkiest of metals! If you're a true folker then this album is for you!’ - Mathias 'Vreth' Lillmans / Finntroll
More on Cruachan 30 years as a band!
Since forming the band in 1992, it’s been Keith Fay’s singular vision that has steered the band for nearly thirty years. Appearing originally under the moniker Minas Tirith the band’s focus on Irish history and mythology prompted a change to more suitable Cruachan. The band’s blend of Irish folk music and metal was unique and in late ’93, their demo 'Celtica' soon landed the band their first record deal with Nazguls Eyrie Productions. The first fruits of this endeavour was the band’s cult classic debut album, 'Tuatha Na Gael', which hit the shelves in 1995 to critical acclaim. The band began to draw admiring glances from a number of bigger labels, but none suited the band’s ambition. They eventually signed with Hammerheart records and released 'The Middle Kingdom' in 1999. 'The Middle Kingdom' record saw the band make their first international live appearances. Their third album 'Folk-lore' was produced by and featured the unmistakable vocals of The Pogues legend Shane MacGowan on 'Ride On' which was a surprise hit single in Ireland. Subsequent releases, including 'Pagan' and 'Blood on the Black Robe' saw the band join up with AFM and Candlelight records and led to Cruachan hitting some of the biggest festival stages, including; Hellfest and 70, 000 Tonnes of Metal (where they became one of the few bands to ever perform three sets, one of which featured Gwar vocalist Kim Dyalla as special guest), as well as their own ‘25th Anniversary’ show in Ireland.
After a few tumultuous years band leader Keith Fay observes; "A number of long-term members chose to leave the band, but that prompted a time of rebirth for the band and it has only been a positive thing." Despite the upheaval behind the scenes, one thing has never faltered; and that is Keith’s passion for folk and metal music, and Cruachan’s unique way of bringing the two together.
Cruachan are:
Keith Fay – Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Bouzouki, Mandolin, Keyboard, Bodhrán
Audrey Trainor – Violin, Viola, Cello
Dave Quinn – Electric Guitar
Joe Farrell – Bass
Tom Woodlock – Drums, Percussion, Hand Clapping
Music and lyrics by Keith Fay
Recorded, produced and mixed by Michael Richards at Trackmix Studios, Dublin, Ireland
Additional Musicians:
Kim Dylla – Backing Vocals
Kim is the former vocalist of GWAR and runs Kylla Custom Rock Wear,
making stage clothes for the greatest metal bands in the world! When
she can, she is also our live female vocalist.
Nella – Lead Vocal (The Changeling)
Nella is a singer songwriter based in Ireland. She has worked with
some of the biggest names in the industry and performed live with
'Video Games Live' as well as sang on the soundtrack for 'World of
Warcraft'.
Mathias ‘Vreth’ Lillmåns – Lead Vocal (The Ghost)
Mathis is lead singer with FINNTROLL!! He adds some really amazing
growls to the most 'Death Metal' track on the album.
Jon Campling – Backing Vocals (The Crow, The Changeling)
Jon is an actor that has appeared in Harry Potter (the Death Eater
that stops the Hogwarts Express) as well as King Regis from Final
Fantasy. In recent years he decided to learn to play guitar and sing
and we're delighted his professional singing debut is on this album
(and he nailed it)
Geoffrey Dell’Aria – Bagpipes, Tin Whistle, Low Whistle
Geoff is an accomplished musician who plays in many many bands. He
made a huge contribution to this album with pipes and whistles
throughout.
Camillus Hiney – Accordion (The Festival)
Camillus is the box player for the legendary Irish folk group THE
FUREYS. Having a folk musician of Camillus's caliber on this album is
a huge moment of pride for us.
Stu ‘La Rage’ Dixon – Guitar solo (The Witch)
Stu is the guitarist with metal legends VENOM. An amazing lead
guitarist who lends a real touch of class to this song.
John Fay – Tin whistle (The Children)
John needs no introduction, long time member of Cruachan over the
years it was a pleasure to have him back and still involved with the
band as a guest musician. You'll see John on TV all the time in shows
such as Vikings, Game of Thrones etc
Sinead Richards – Euphonium (The Reaper)
Lastly a huge thank you to Sinead, the 14 year old daughter of our
producer. She is a huge talent and added such orchestral heft to this
song that we can't imagine how it would sound without her
contribution.
D I S C O V E R
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3ecLKnh
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cruachanclan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cruachan_official/
Bandcamp: https://cruachanband.bandcamp.com
Youtube: www.youtube.com\cruachankeith
Website: www.cruachanireland.com
Quelle: cmm-consulting for music and media