I was fully prepared to dislike The Morrigan’s Call by Cruachan. In the album’s press release, it was labeled as “Irish Metal/Pagan/Folk.” Now just what the fuck does that mean?

So I put the album on and prepared to write one of those juicy, bad reviews I love doing so much. I heard the first track, “Shelob,” and thought, “Ok, now what the fuck is this?” But then a strange thing happened. As the album went on, my thoughts turned to, “This ain’t so fucking bad after all.” It may be impossible to categorize Cruachan, but I suppose I will give it a shot: If a metal band with an Irish folk singer hijacked The Pogues, I think this would be the result. The band mixes metal, Irish folk, odd harmonies and melodies only a fine Irish lad could love.

Some of these songs, in fact, sound like old Irish drinking songs set to heavy metal, like “Teir Abhaile Riu,” “Wolfe Tone” and “The Brown Bull of Cooley.” The songs are lent an authenticity with the voice of Karen Gilligan, who has that classic Irish folk voice.  She sings solo on some songs like “The Old Woman in the Woods” and “The Great Hunger.” Other times she duets with the band’s founder/guitarist Keith Fay, like on “Cuchulainn.” Fay’s vocals run the gamut from sneering punk to death metal growl. And despite the overall weird vibe, there are some pretty acoustic guitar parts and ambient sounds mixed in with a touch of thrash and death metal.

The Morrigan’s Call takes a little time to grow on you. It’s such an unusual style of music that it doesn’t quite register. This might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but it will make for a nice change of pace at St. Patrick’s Day or a good soundtrack whenever the make another one of those Leprechaun movies.