I love going to small, underground festivals: you never know which bands you might discover. And so it was that last year at Dark Troll Festival, a quaint little festival in the ruins of a castle in Germany, I watched a young kilt-clad, war paint besmeared Scottish band called CNOC AN TURSA unleash their own peculiar music, and I instantly knew that I had to hear more. However, despite having been around for over a decade, CNOC AN TURSA have made fans wait what surely felt like eons for each release, with a demo in 2008, and a début album in 2013. This month sees them ready to bring out their sophomore effort, entitled "The Forty Five".

Spanning over three quarters of an hour, "The Forty Five" is redolent with Scottish pride, all the way from the album artwork right down to the song titles. Starting off with the instrumental intro of "Will Ye No Come Back Again", background sounds of battles awaken dreams of war before melting into a gentle yet haunting piano melody fortified by choirs. This takes on a militant march, before launching into "The Yellow Locks of Charlie", a long and powerful song, alive with undercurrents of melancholy, and which swings between slower-paced sections and galloping speed complete with soaring melodies, countered by the harshly rasped vocals. Flurried and cascading keyboards bring us to "The Standard on the Braes o'Mar", whilst the relentlessly pounding drums give the song a strong backbone, keeping all the other elements in check. Which is not to say that the other instruments have no space to breathe: stunning guitar-work add completely new facets to the song. "Wha Wadna Fecht for Charlie" in contrast to this sees a return to the slower melody seeped in tristesse. However, in a few small parts, it feels like the vocals lag every so slightly behind the instruments, giving the otherwise good song a feeling as if it were being dragged along. At the zenith of the album, we find yet another instrumental song, "Flora MacDonald", its light and airy melody tinged with just a hint of remorse. This makes the frantic onslaught of "Sound the Pibroch" that much more hard-hitting, although this too is tempered by slower sections, particularly in the latter half of the song. But it's this very oscillation in tempo that make the song so entrancing. As the last melancholic notes fade away, we come to "Fuigheall", which also starts off with a rapid-fire tempo, with galloping sections driving the melody on relentlessly, although, as with it's predecessor, this song is also marked by increasing slower sections as it progresses. And finally, we come to the last song, "The Last of the Stuarts", which opens with a swaying melody that almost reminds me of Loreena McKennitt's ballads. However, the comparison doesn't last long, stopping once the distorted guitars kick in a few seconds later. Only at the midpoint do the vocals kick in, but when they do, any last lingering thoughts of red-haired Celtic women are straight away swept away by the tempestuous melodies, with the super catchy refrain immediately insinuating it's way into your ear. I can just picture the fists pumping to chants of "Last of the Stuarts" when this song is played live. Talk about goosebumps!

One thing that I love about "The Forty Five" is all the unexpected twists and turns. Not only the album as a whole, but each song in itself is marked by surprising variations in tempo and melody that keep the listener captivated. Describing themselves as Celtic Metal, CNOC AN TURSA is highly recommended for fans of the folkier side of Metal, so be sure to check out "The Forty Five".