Seems like we're going to have ourselves an interesting year, speaking of albums. And especially from not so major bands. First with Pain of Salvation and Angel Dust, and now with Cruachan. Folk-Lore is the third album for the Irish folk/metalers, following their debut Tuatha Na Gael and their 2000 release The Middle Kingdom.
Folk-Lore is a mixture of heavy metal and rock, with some -light- black metal elements, and lots of Irish and Celtic folk music elements. It is their most calm album so far, and their most mature as well. With a great range of songs, from heavy songs, to more traditional-oriented ones, the album never becomes boring.
The low-quality production (now done by Irish rock legend Shane McGowan, who also sings in two songs) is no longer a problem, so their capabilities are more properly shown. The album also contains a cover version of a famous Irish song, Ride On, by Jimmy McCarthy, which takes the song from a new perspective (more up-tempo, with some brutal vocals) and makes it very interesting.
With this album Cruachan show us that they are a very talented and versatile band, with a variety on their music, and they also manage to avoid the Skyclad-ish band branding, with a lot to promise for the future! They deserve your attention.