Cruachan

1992年，Keith Fay在"Minas Tirith"樂隊(duì)解散后成立了Cruachan。樂隊(duì)由John Fay和Clohessay以及一些解散隊(duì)伍中的人組成。出于對(duì)Celtic音樂，歷史，神話的熱愛，樂隊(duì)把這些吸收進(jìn)他們的音樂和歌詞中，達(dá)到了他們從沒有達(dá)到的范疇。由完全傳統(tǒng)與常見的器樂演奏以及當(dāng)?shù)氐囊魳繁硌?，Cruachan決定錄制一張DEMO，向世界釋放他們獨(dú)特的音樂風(fēng)格。
DEMO在1993年晚些 時(shí)侯發(fā)行，它得到了世界級(jí)的評(píng)價(jià)，引起了許多廠牌公司的目光。其中一個(gè)來自德國(guó)的叫"Nazgul Eyrie Productions"公司于1994年早期與Cruachan簽定合約，最主要的原因是公司給予了樂隊(duì)充分的自由空間和自主權(quán)。在1995年早期，樂隊(duì)錄制了他們第一次演出的專輯"Tuatha na Gael"并由Celtic feast of Beltaine公司發(fā)行。黑金屬交錯(cuò)著Celtic音調(diào)……人們愛上了這個(gè)古老的音樂。專輯唯一的敗筆是由于錄制時(shí)間限制而生產(chǎn)粗糙。盡管如此， 權(quán)當(dāng)是一次學(xué)習(xí)的經(jīng)歷，樂隊(duì)還是擁有了全世界的追隨者。專輯沒有宣傳，但仍在商店一售而空，是至今Celtic feast of Beltaine廠牌銷量第一的專輯。
1997年德國(guó)的"Century Media Records"對(duì)Cruachan顯示出巨大的興趣。經(jīng)過協(xié)商，Cruachan最終放棄了合約，因?yàn)楣緵]有給予他們自由，對(duì)他們的創(chuàng)作也加以干涉，"Century Media Records"沒有改變他們的合同令Cruachan不得不與之分手。Cruachan繼續(xù)著寫作與演出，不僅為了金屬聽眾，而且在Celtic節(jié)上與國(guó)際著名的演員同臺(tái)演出。
所有的成員繼續(xù)演出著，但是規(guī)模比以前小了。正如鳳凰死而復(fù)生，Cruachan也一樣。在1999年由于樂迷寫信要求出第二張專輯，Keith 和John Fay決定改革。在1999年11月，Cruachan開始錄制他們的第二張專輯"The Middle Kingdom",并在2000年 6月發(fā)行。
Cruachan把現(xiàn)代搖滾和愛爾蘭傳統(tǒng)音樂結(jié)合起來。但是遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)比這個(gè) 要多：復(fù)雜的古典小樣，古老的中世紀(jì)曲調(diào)等等。他們同樣也運(yùn)用真樂器而不是僅僅借助鍵盤或取樣器。Cruachan的原始金屬風(fēng)格可以被歸為黑金屬，但是樂隊(duì)現(xiàn)在選擇了更加原始的重金屬，雖然黑金的影響力仍然明顯，整體的精神還是那。Cruachan自認(rèn)為是現(xiàn)代的詩(shī)人或者說書者。他們講述了古代Celtic的神 話和他們光榮的過去以及幻想，講述的是愛爾蘭人承受的艱難歲月和革命，通過音樂這一媒介...把一切變的簡(jiǎn)單...Cruachan是說書者...不多，不少。
Ireland's Cruachan isn't the world's first, nor the world's only "folk metal" band (other well known acts being Finland's Amorphis and England's Skyclad, to name but two), but they have arguably gone to the greatest lengths of anyone in their attempts to expand this still largely unexplored subgenre. Forming in 1992 from the ashes of an earlier band called Minas Tirith, Cruachan (which means "the big stack" and doubles as the war cry, or slogan, of the Argyll region's Clan Campbell) featured Keith Fay (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Jay Brennan (guitar), John O'Fathaigh (flute), John Clohessy (bass), and Jay O'Niell (drums), whose prime sonic objective was meshing Irish heritage, Celtic history, and Tolkien mythology with death and black metal savagery. Also known to use traditional instrumentation, on occasion, to carry out this mission, the band released their first effort, Tuatha Na Gael, independently in 1995, but broke up a couple of years later after lengthy negotiations failed to yield a deal with Century Media Records. But Cruachan eventually decided to re-form and, after retooling their lineup with new arrivals Joe Farrell (drums) and, lending greater flexibility to their sound, vocalist/percussionist Karen Gilligan, they signed a new deal with Hammerheart Records. Now enjoying some stability, Cruachan proceeded to churn out 2000's The Middle Kingdom LP, 2001's Ride On EP, and 2002's Folk-Lore LP. Keyboardist Ed Gilbert joined the crew in 2003 and performed on their next album, 2004's Pagan.