Cruachan

1992年，Keith Fay在"Minas Tirith"乐队解散后成立了Cruachan。乐队由John Fay和Clohessay以及一些解散队伍中的人组成。出于对Celtic音乐，历史，神话的热爱，乐队把这些吸收进他们的音乐和歌词中，达到了他们从没有达到的范畴。由完全传统与常见的器乐演奏以及当地的音乐表演，Cruachan决定录制一张DEMO，向世界释放他们独特的音乐风格。
DEMO在1993年晚些 时侯发行，它得到了世界级的评价，引起了许多厂牌公司的目光。其中一个来自德国的叫"Nazgul Eyrie Productions"公司于1994年早期与Cruachan签定合约，最主要的原因是公司给予了乐队充分的自由空间和自主权。在1995年早期，乐队录制了他们第一次演出的专辑"Tuatha na Gael"并由Celtic feast of Beltaine公司发行。黑金属交错着Celtic音调……人们爱上了这个古老的音乐。专辑唯一的败笔是由于录制时间限制而生产粗糙。尽管如此， 权当是一次学习的经历，乐队还是拥有了全世界的追随者。专辑没有宣传，但仍在商店一售而空，是至今Celtic feast of Beltaine厂牌销量第一的专辑。
1997年德国的"Century Media Records"对Cruachan显示出巨大的兴趣。经过协商，Cruachan最终放弃了合约，因为公司没有给予他们自由，对他们的创作也加以干涉，"Century Media Records"没有改变他们的合同令Cruachan不得不与之分手。Cruachan继续着写作与演出，不仅为了金属听众，而且在Celtic节上与国际著名的演员同台演出。
所有的成员继续演出着，但是规模比以前小了。正如凤凰死而复生，Cruachan也一样。在1999年由于乐迷写信要求出第二张专辑，Keith 和John Fay决定改革。在1999年11月，Cruachan开始录制他们的第二张专辑"The Middle Kingdom",并在2000年 6月发行。
Cruachan把现代摇滚和爱尔兰传统音乐结合起来。但是远远比这个 要多：复杂的古典小样，古老的中世纪曲调等等。他们同样也运用真乐器而不是仅仅借助键盘或取样器。Cruachan的原始金属风格可以被归为黑金属，但是乐队现在选择了更加原始的重金属，虽然黑金的影响力仍然明显，整体的精神还是那。Cruachan自认为是现代的诗人或者说书者。他们讲述了古代Celtic的神 话和他们光荣的过去以及幻想，讲述的是爱尔兰人承受的艰难岁月和革命，通过音乐这一媒介...把一切变的简单...Cruachan是说书者...不多，不少。
Ireland's Cruachan isn't the world's first, nor the world's only "folk metal" band (other well known acts being Finland's Amorphis and England's Skyclad, to name but two), but they have arguably gone to the greatest lengths of anyone in their attempts to expand this still largely unexplored subgenre. Forming in 1992 from the ashes of an earlier band called Minas Tirith, Cruachan (which means "the big stack" and doubles as the war cry, or slogan, of the Argyll region's Clan Campbell) featured Keith Fay (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Jay Brennan (guitar), John O'Fathaigh (flute), John Clohessy (bass), and Jay O'Niell (drums), whose prime sonic objective was meshing Irish heritage, Celtic history, and Tolkien mythology with death and black metal savagery. Also known to use traditional instrumentation, on occasion, to carry out this mission, the band released their first effort, Tuatha Na Gael, independently in 1995, but broke up a couple of years later after lengthy negotiations failed to yield a deal with Century Media Records. But Cruachan eventually decided to re-form and, after retooling their lineup with new arrivals Joe Farrell (drums) and, lending greater flexibility to their sound, vocalist/percussionist Karen Gilligan, they signed a new deal with Hammerheart Records. Now enjoying some stability, Cruachan proceeded to churn out 2000's The Middle Kingdom LP, 2001's Ride On EP, and 2002's Folk-Lore LP. Keyboardist Ed Gilbert joined the crew in 2003 and performed on their next album, 2004's Pagan.