Cnoc An Tursa

Sgàile – Traverse the Bealach Review

Sgàile – Traverse the Bealach Review

“I get few opportunities for hiking thanks to my urban-adjacent residency, but were I to pick my ideal hiking spot, the Scottish Highlands would be up there. In lieu of a plane ticket, it seems I must settle for yet another spin of Traverse the Bealach, the long-distance hiking-inspired concept album about a nomad’s journey through post-apocalyptic Scotland, from Tony Dunn’s Sgàile. Dunn has an impressive resume that spans playing bass in Cnoc an Tursa, singing for Falloch, and some live performances with his former bandmate Andy Marshall’s Saor, but Sgàile is his one-man show.” Walkabout-core.

Cnoc An Tursa – The Forty Five Review

Cnoc An Tursa – The Forty Five Review

“How do you keep a genre fresh without turning it into something it’s not? This is a question I’ve been pondering for a while now. See, I’ve been a near-obsessive devotee of the whole atmospheric-blackened-folk metal shebang ever since I caught Winterfylleth as a support band back in about 2009. Unfortunately, after many years, countless foliage-themed album covers and a surfeit of unintelligible shrieks about Odin and mountains, the sub-subgenre is starting to feel a little stale, and thus my corresponding enthusiasm for new releases is beginning to wane accordingly.” Kilts, hilts and glory.

Record(s) o’ the Month – February 2013

Record(s) o’ the Month – February 2013

So as everyone from the southern hemisphere has apparently noticed, a record of the month for February has not actually be chosen. This is, honestly, because the month really didn’t shine like one would hope it would have. Not to say that none of the records were good or even very good – they were! — but while others at the blog were fairly enthusiastic about certain releases, none of them really reached the heights that I think they should have to be awarded with the Record o’ the Month with ease. Still, a tradition is a tradition, and Angry Metal Readers have been pestering me non-stop about it. So, here it is.

Cnoc An Tursa – The Giants of Auld Review

Cnoc An Tursa – The Giants of Auld Review

When one thinks about black metal, the image that probably comes to mind is that of the pine barrens and frozen desolation of Norway, the extreme cold only briefly warmed by burning churches dotting the landscape. Scotland, on the other hand, is not usually the landscape that one imagines, but rather than the icy fjords of Scandinavia, Cnoc An Tursa hail from Falkirk.” Scottish metal just sounds tough, doesn’t it? Well, Cnoc An Tursa is obsessed with scottish poetry about battles and death, which is clerarly tough. Natalie Zed will tell you if they’re good as well as tough.