JOY SHANNON has been on the Celtic Pagan Folk scene since 2000 when she played with THE DEATHBLOSSOMS. Over the last 24 years she has led her own projects as well as collaborating with many others. She has also released several solo albums, including “An Chailleach” issued on November 1. For those who aren’t fluent in Irish or familiar with Irish lore, “An Chailleach” translates to ‘crone’ or ‘elder goddess.’ Google Translate suggests ‘old woman.’ As for myself, I prefer ‘beldame.’ However you want to translate it, on the 15 tracks that make up “An Chailleach” (17 if you snag the bonus tracks on Bandcamp) Shannon explores “the lore of the dark wintertime goddess of Ireland.” It is a very, very mellow album and only claims sanctuary in the Metal Temple via its adjacency to Metal via Paganism. Personally, I think it would be incredible if Shannon released an Atmospheric Black Metal album the same way MYRKUR released “Folkesange.” Just putting it out there.

Promo material describes “An Chailleach” as a collection of “stark and stunning compositions” also noting a small horde of guest artists including “dark folk band OSI AND THE JUPITER, the ambient artist Leila Abdul-Rauf, singer and guitarist Jessica Way from the ethereal metal band WORM OUROBOROS and the dark ambient band T.O.M.B., the folk metal band AERIAL RUIN, the haunting singer and songwriter Emily Jane White and throat singer and shamanic practitioner Kai Uwe Faust of HEILUNG.” 

So, 17 tracks with a runtime of 82 minutes (including the aforementioned bonus tracks) plus a veritable fuckton of guest artists and you got some serious bang for your buck, musically speaking. Of course, you need to be really into mellow Pagan Folk music, but if Celtic harp, clean female vocals, and Irish lore is your thing, then this is your album.

Shannon does have a gorgeous ethereal vocal style. She leans way into that echo chamber thing and stays on the gentle side. I’d love to hear her do some belting. I’ll have to explore her older material to see what’s there. For now, pretty much every song on “An Chailleach” is a song to meditate by and there is very little variation. We do get some male vocals on the bonus version of “Corr Bán” with Kai Uwe Faust, but the tempo never progresses much past glacial.

Not much more to say on this one. “An Chailleach” is a fairly subdues endeavor across a very long stretch of terrain. Some interesting guests, but they fail to add much energy. If you are a die-hard Joy Shannon fan, then you must partake. If you’re just looking for Pagan Folk, you can probably find something more interesting.