Celtachor
Fiannaíocht

Fiannaíocht is the name of the new album by Irish band Celtachor whom I have written about twice already in the history of Hallowed and all through those reviews the rating has been the same. They have released three albums before this one, I missed their 2014 release but since that time they have enlisted a violinist and they have a new bassist who plays Irish harp and bouzouki, which means that they can be more folkish and more melodic. Singer Stephen also sings clean vocals on this album meaning that they have widened their vocal approach a little, something I know I asked for when I reviewed them last. This album tells the story of Finn of the Fianna, a hero from the Irish Mythology, which is in the tradition of the band’s calling to showcase their own view of the Irish Mythology through their music.

In think their music reaches a wider spectrum with this album, the clean vocals adds much but also the more melodic and folkier stuff is nice. Celtic styled black metal is one way to describe it but I think that the most common description will be folk metal or pagan metal. Pretty good sound, I think the production is rather good even though I know that there are better productions to behold out there in the musical world. Moreover, I still don’t really fancy the vocals, I don’t know why but they feel a bit dull perhaps, the chanting is nice though. And the album is quite varied even though it can tend to go into some slow and long sequences that I think many will view as a little bit boring, or a little tired at least. But I think it is an album with good depth and dynamics overall, there are just some parts they could shorten.

Niceties and good songs come throughout this album and I find it to be rather good, I like listening to it. And I do believe that those that are real fanatics of the folk or pagan metal genre will find it even more appealing than I do. The only weakness I can see is these parts when the album looses a bit too much tempo and starts feeling a bit tired, I know that I many times think of changing to something else at those parts, I don’t think they add very much. But that is not enough to sway me towards a negative view upon the album, I have a very positive feeling towards this album, I think it is a good one and it has been fairly enjoyable to play through a couple of times. So if you are a part of the targeted audience you should really have a look at this album.

Now then, conclusion: Fiannaíocht is a strong album overall, I view it very positively. It has some very nice Celtic tunes and melodic feel that adds a lot to the overall picture, I think they have taken good steps forward and if they could iron out these little flaws I see in the flow of the album I think they will be capable of creating something really exciting. Not that this album isn’t exciting, it will certainly be a worthwhile endeavour to check it out if you are a folk metal fan.

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