| CD REVIEW Suidakra |
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Band: Suidakra Crógacht is Suidakra’s ninth studio album in their fourteen years of existence. The album was recorded by Arkadius, Lars and Marcus at the Gernhart Studio with producer Martin Buchwalter and has duration of over forty one minutes. The lyrical concept on this album deals with the epic journey of Cuchulainn, an Irish mythological hero, who wanted to learn the arts of war from Scáthach, a legendary Scythian warrior woman. The artwork fits and damn, the music on Crógacht is the ultimate soundtrack to this tragic tale. The approach is comparable to Suidakra’s former album, Caledonia (Armageddon Music), but Crógacht goes much further. The whole sounds much more ‘firm’ and ‘complete’, which goes for both the overwhelming sound as the dynamic compositions. The tracks vary a lot from each other, and several tempo-changes, the vocal variety (harmony chants, grunts and screams, melodic vocals, a choir and female voices) and the addition of traditional elements / instruments (bagpipe, tin whistle, banjo) make each hymn an interesting piece. More than before, this Suidakra-album can proudly be called ‘epic’, and this is the most Celtic approach (read: Cruachan, Geasa, Mael Mordha etc) in the band’s history. Time after time, the band surprises me with this harmonious mixture of Folk / Pagan, Death / Black and Heavy Metal. Besides different Metal-driven parts, the album contains, of course, a few acoustic moments with a melancholic atmosphere, as well as orchestral arrangements. For fans of Cruachan, Bathory, Primordial, Eluveitie, Mithotyn, Forefather, Borknagar, Amon Amarth, Thyrfing, Bal Sagoth, Black Messiah amongst many others. Without any doubt, this recording is the strongest Suidakra-release to date! 91/100 Ivan Tibos. |