TUATHA NA GAEL

This album was were it all began for Cruachan. At the time of its release it was groundbreaking in its unique blend of Black Metal and traditional Celtic Folk music. Sadly, the mixing and production is one of the worst I have ever heard in my life which makes it very close to unlistenable for me. But this didn't stop this album from sparking an underground interest that would keep the band alive through the hard times that followed. It would be another five years before they released another album, and Cruachan almost quit during the interim due to being badly treated by their record company at the time. But after encouragement from enthusiastic fans, the band regained their strengths and returned with the very different, and very much better, The Middle Kingdom in 2000.

The songs on Tuatha Na Gael do show a lot of promise, however. But it is unclear to me whether I would think that if it wasn't for the fact that several of the songs exist in better versions elsewhere. Maeves March was re-recorded for the Ride On EP in 2001, the epic The Fall Of Gondolin was re-recorded for Pagan in 2004, Cuchliann was re-recorded for The Morrigan's Call in 2006, and the traditional Brian Boro reappeared in 2011 on Blood On The Black Robe. In all cases are the later versions major improvements. As such, Tuatha Na Gael is now largely redundant. The bonus tracks on the re-issue of this album are just demos, some too of which would appear in improved versions on later albums.

Tuatha Na Gael is a raw and immature debut album which poorly represents what the band would go on to do on future releases. Today this recoding has its value primarily as a historical document. It is only recommend to Cruachan completionists, and to those with a special interest in the early history of Folk Metal. Prog fans interested in checking out Cruachan should under no circumstances begin here.

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