In The Halls Of Our Ancient Fathers (Self Released)

 “In The Halls Of Our Ancient Fathers” is the second release of this Irish Celtic/Black Metal band formed in 2007 who after a first demo entitled “Sings Of War” and two years of silence, decided to unleash seven new tracks of epic savagery and folk obscurity. After a mystic and tranquil instrumental intro entitled “Nemed’s Wake” the Black Metal sound makes its appearance, with all the characteristic belligerence of the style in shape of mid paced, epic structures, where mid toned aggressive guitar riffs, in conjunction with a pummeling drum work and a hellish voice is accurately complemented by some tin whistle delicate and pagan harmonies, resulting in a interesting blend of Folk/Black Metal… Unlike many Folk Black Metal bands, Celtachor maintains a crude and predominant Black Metal sound during the 36 minutes this demo lasts, but at the same time is capable to balance the aggressivity and blinding obscurity of the style with the mystic and subtle sound of the Celtic inspired musical elements, reminding me at moments the sound of early Primordial, Cruachan and even some of the intensity of Enslaved… The concept behind “In The Halls Of Our Ancient Fathers” is based on the myth of Lugh (probably the most popular god on the Celtic mythology) and each track on this demo belongs to a chapter of this story, all the lyrics were included on the booklet of this work, which is quite unusual for a demo but it’s definitely a nice detail. The production of this record is very decent sounding for a demo, with a dirty, unpolished yet powerful and balanced sound, this demo has all the elements of a professional and solid release. “In The Halls Of Our Ancient Fathers” is a complete and solid sample of the band’s powerful proposal, if you are into Folk Black Metal or even into straight traditional sounding Black Metal I definitely recommend you to check out this excellent demo… (AP)