By Albert Mansour
Germany’s Suidakra return shining bright with their 9th studio effort, Crogacht (meaning – bravery). The opening instrumental ‘Slán’ (1:48) features a traditional Celtic sound with the bagpipes moving from the introduction into the second track “Conlaoch,” which combines fast melodic death metal, Irish folk music and a torrent of harmonies. There are very folky leads in between the verses and choruses which sound of course like pirate music. All in all, this is an album with brilliantly done songs that feature great riffs, both thrash and folk, and some pretty epic soloing. Even those who flinch at the sound of bagpipes in metal would be wise to check this out for its rich sound and aggressive melodies. From the powerful songs like “Shattering Swords” to the Celtic acoustic track “Ar Nasc Fola” which begins with classical guitar and finishes with flute and light percussion. This album never lets up. Anybody that loves pagan/viking metal will want to give this disc a listen.
http://www.myspace.com/suidakra
(SPV USA)
