Metalhead Series: 4 Celtic Metal Bands from Dublin

The music genre of metal has always been quite diverse with many different nuances and subgenres. One of these subgenres is Celtic Metal, a subgenre of folk metal that developed in the 1990s in Ireland. It was born out of a fusion of Heavy Metal and Celtic Rock. The genre has since expanded beyond the Irish shores and is performed today by bands from all over the world. But the home of Celtic Metal is still Ireland. Because of that, Babylon Radio’s resident metalhead has found 4 Celtic Metal Bands from Dublin for you.

Cruachan

The band Cruachan is a Celtic and Black Metal band founded in 1992 by Keith Fay in Dublin. They named themselves after one of the seats of the old Gaelic Kings of Ireland. Cruachan is recognized as one of the founders of the genre of Folk Metal. Their specific focus lies on Celtic music and the use of Celtic mythology in their lyrics. The band disbanded in 1997 after lengthy negotiations failed to yield a deal with Century Records which had offered them a “very poor contract”. But they reformed in 1999 after acquiring a contract with another record label. After their fifth album, the band has gone back to their harder black metal influenced style.

Recommended Album:

Blood  for the Blood God (2014)

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Mael Mórdha

The band Mael Mórdha formed in 1998 in Dublin and underwent the arduous journey from the unknown to the front lines of Irish metal. They play an unique blend of doom metal and traditional Irish laments which is called Gaelic Doom Metal. Their songs provide a dark, melancholy and epic soundtrack to historical and mythical tales of ancient Ireland. Sadly, the band has been on a hiatus since November 2015 with vocalist Roibeard O’Bogail going back to the roots of the band and re-forming Uaigneas. The rest joined former Cursed Earth vocalist Denis Dowling under a new band name, Death the Leveller.

Recommended Album:

Gealtacht Mael Mórdha (2007)

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Geasa

Geasa is a Folk and Black Metal band formed in 1994 by Fergal Purcell and John Kavanagh in Dublin. The band derives its name from geis (pl. geasa) which in Irish mythology and folklore is is a taboo, whether of obligation or prohibition but also a magic spell or curse. Their style combines traditional Irish roots with the Black Metal sound to form Celtic Black Metal. Geasa’s drummer, Simon O’Laoghaire, also plays with the metal band Primordial.

Recommended Album:

Angel’s Cry (1999)

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Celtachor

Stephen Roche and David Quinn formed the band Celtachor in 2007 in Dublin. It takes its multiple influences from Black, Doom and Celtic Folk Metal. Celtachor’s main focus was it to bring the mythology of the Irish sagas to life, from the grief of the Sons of Tuireann to the life and death of Cu Chulainn. They see themselves as the narrators of the legends of the ancient times of Eire by incorporating Irish whistles and drums of war into their music.

Recommended Album:

Fiannaíocht (2018)

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