| Gealtacht Mael Mórdha (CD) | 2007 | Grau |
'Gaeltacht Mael Mórdha' isn't really at home in any subgenre of metal, but that doesn't matter. There are bits of doom in here, some folk, but most of all a lot of metal. Sometimes slow, sometimes up-tempo, sometimes mellow, sometimes ultra-heavy, this album doesn't tend to one extreme. Above all, there is this certain something in here which to me is typical for Irish metal. It's hard to put your finger on it, but it may have something to do with emotion and sincerity, and bands like Mael Mórdha, Primordial and Old Season have it in spades. Besides that, there's killer riffs and rhythms, powerful clean vocals, a bit of keys, a bit of flute and acoustic guitar - just how this kind of music is supposed to be done.
There really isn't any bad side to this album, so I'll skip ahead to the good stuff. The interplay between fast headbangin' parts and melodic verses of "Godless Commune of Sodom", for example. Same goes for the speedy "The Struggle Eternal". Also beautiful is the desperate ending of 'A Window of Madness'. 'Minions of Manannán' (for the infidels: Manannán is a Celtic god of the sea) is perhaps the most doomy track on the album, with a great slow riff and matching dragging vocals. The absolutely best track is 'Curse of the Bard', though. It's difficult to point out how it happens, but this song distills the best parts of this band's music into one - simply very powerful and captivating.
Needless to say, this is a great album. If there's any such thing as a true 'metal spirit', you'll surely find lots of that in here. If you enjoy an energetic, original and emotional approach to real metal, this album is what you should be getting!
Note: Listening to the lyrics one can garner that the tracklist printed on the CD is wrong. The correct one is listed here.
1. Atlas of Sorrow
2. Godless Commune of Sodom
3. Curse of the Bard
4. The Struggle Eternal
5. A Window of Madness
6. Gealtacht Mael Mórdha
7. Minions of Manannán
Approx. 45 minutes