Cruadalach is a band from Prague, playing a kind of funny folk metal since 2008. They have zillions of members in their roster, eight people to be precise, probably because there’s a lot of instruments and composition to handle. It’s hard, after listening their second full-length, Rebel Against Me, to avoid the idea that this is a band just for fun.
I don’t think I’m very much into this kind of music to be very technical in my review or something, but after listening to so many bands from different metal genres I can just bring in this metaphor about this one: you’re prepared to cook a great soup for your loved one. This really has to work out, so you invite some friends to help with the endeavor. You briefly discuss about it and all of you start throwing some ingredient into the pot. There’s all types of eatable stuff boiling there and then you mix it up. You finish the whole thing, pay your friends some beers and serve the plate to your girlfriend/boyfriend. And, after sipping the soup, getting that first taste, she/he stares at you with a weird gaze and says “it tastes like everything and nothing.”
There are bands like this, that throw every possible idea into the pot ant then the result is something like Rebel Against Me. This is far from rebellious or whatever… this is inconsistent, incoherent and what else. Do you want a compilation of all vocal types you can get into an album or all kinds of metal genres you can stuff into a song? There you go. At least, I don’t even think the band cares at all about this. They had fun doing this and that idea passes.
Lyric content is mostly positive and deals with some societal problems we face today, like man vs nature and nature vs big cities. Cruadalach can also be more introspective and sing about human feelings of sorts. The music, at the end of the day, with all those “ingredients”, doesn’t do much for it, or for them, or us.
Notes:
Rebel Against Me CD was released by Metal Gate in January 2015.
Tracklist:
1. Revolt Without a Name
2. Shiva World Dance Party
3. Stuff That Matters
4. Earth Café
5. Rebel Against Me
6. Wolves at the Gates
7. Life-Worshipping Bastards
8. Satyros
9. Karma to Burn
10. The Astralnaut
11. Ziemie niczyje
Personnel:
Michal "Datel" Rak - Drums, Percussion, Samples
Petra "Ewenica" Jadrná- Recorders, Shawms, Whistles
Hanka "Honey" Slanařová - Violin
Jan "Randalf" Vrobel - Vocals
Ondráš "Lazar" Novák - Bass
Honza "Pigboss" Knotek - Guitars
Eliška Navrátilová - Violin
Tomáš "Ante" Nejedlý - Guitars, Citern
Text by Vetrarnótt