Hey, how are you guys doing? First of all congratulations with a fantastic album called "Pagan"! Are you satisfied the way it turned out?
To an extent we are happy, we think the songs are killer songs but the production has let it down slightly.

How are the reactions from both press and fans up till now?
So far the reaction has been brilliant. We are getting on average 8 out of 10, obviously a lot of reviewers are making the point that the production is not as good as on Folklore but luckily it is not affecting most peoples enjoyment of the album.

The cover is done by John Howe, known from his work for "Lord of the Rings". How did you came in contact with him and is this design exclusively for Cruachan or was it an already existing painting which you choose?
We got in touch with John over the internet, he likes our music and his son is a big fan of Shane Mc Gowan. Over the last 2 years we have been in touch, chatting about various things, one day I put it to him that we would love to have him do our album cover, he was very interested as it has always been a dream of his to see his artwork on an album cover. We used an existing picture that he has called "Celtic Myth", I think it suits Cruachan perfectly.

Since Hammerheart changed name into Karmageddom Media the distribution has become way better and now the albums are also available in the USA. Any plans for going over there because it is well known that alot of Irish people live in the USA?
Hmmm, it would be a dream come true to play in the US but unless a booking agent over there can fund some shows, it probably wont happen. We do expect to do ok in the US because, as you said, there is a huge Irish-American population who love all things Irish, with Cruachan you cant get any more Irish!!

And how is the band received in your homecountry Ireland? Are you well known already because you exist for quit some years already?
We have a small following over here, we have never become "huge" or anything close, our main fan-base is in Europe.

And how do people mainly in the traditional musical corner look towards you as you mix both heavymetal with the traditional Irish folk? Are you been taken seriously by the traditional folk performing artists because you also use traditional instruments and melodies?
We have been well received in the folk music scene and are often featured in folk magazines etc. but there also some folk purists who do not agree with what we are doing and think folk music should not be mixed with other types of music, we usually just laugh at them though.

Can you tell a bit more about the lyrics? It seems that the lyrics are quit important for you as almost all lyrics include some additional info as well? What inspires you to write lyrics?
Yes the lyrics are quite important for me. I enjoy reading about history and I am forever finding topics that I read about and think "I must make a song aout this", so far I have only scratched the surface of Irish history and mythology.

I think it was a cool idea to also write about Celts defeating the vikings at some battles, specially in these days when so much bands start to play vikingmetal and sing about the fierce Norsemen? What is your opinion about this?
Well I agree, we kicked the dreaded vikings arses, but you will never find the viking bands singing about that. I expected a lot of backlash when those songs came out but I think people are not taking them too seriously which is good. I would hate to be receiving death threats from Thyrfing or something like that haha!!!!

"Some say the devil is dead" is a bit different towards the other songs and it can be labeled as a traditional drinking song (and it is great to drink some heavy beers on, I found out already!). What can you tell about this song?
I'm glad you have discovered the true meaning of that song....and Cruachan in general, I am very proud of you. The song itself is very famous and you can hear it performed all over the country. Like I said in the liner notes, we are not sure who wrote the actual words for the song. I chose to cover it because it is such a fun song to play, a real party song to help get loads of guinness into you.

Your demo will be released again later this year according to the information sheet which came along with the promo. Is it the "Celtica" demo and what else can you tell about it and will there be special features as well on this release?
We are actually planning a box set release of all our albums plus a bonus cd which will contain some un-released material and the "Celtica" demo. I think it will be just the demo as it was originally with probably a bit of a mastering job on it.

Alot of bands release DVD's nowadays. Can we expect the same with Cruachan. I think you have enough backstage/on the road video footage to fill a DVD and besides that a Cruachan gig is always a pleasure for both ears and eyes as you're all talented musicians whom know how to amuse an audience?
We have very little live footage and what we have is certainly not DVD quality. I would love to release a DVD, it would do wonders for my ego haha, but as it stands now there are no plans. We are discussing the possibility of a video clip to promote our first single, this is still in the planning stages though.

About live gigs, your first European gigs were the gigs together with Thyrfing. How was that tour for you guys? I think your popularity has grew alot because of that tour, am I right with that?
The tour was fantastic, we really enjoyed that time on the road. It is an amazing feeling to get out there and actually play to our fans and then to meet them afterwards and have beers with them. We would never hide backstage, we were always out chatting, answering questions etc. basically just enjoying ourselves. If our popularity grew or not as a result I honestly can't say but if it did, cool!

And are there new plans ready to enter the European stages again? Maybe some festivals this summer?
We are playing the Bloodstock festival in the UK in September and we are headlining the Pagan Metal festival in Germany in November. As well as these we have a small tour being arranged for after the summer with plans to do a bigger tour in early 2005.

While on European tour with Thyrfing I went along with you for 1 day with the tourbus. During the whole trip there was laughter and fun with you guys so is fun an important thing within Cruachan?
Well we are humans aren't we? Fun is important for everyone, there's no point going on tour and being miserable, it is a time to party, have a few beers and go mad! I would hate to go on tour in a serious black metal band who took themselves too seriously and did not smile or anything, f*ck that sh*t.

By the way, what does Cruachan mean and why did you choose this name as a bandname? Has it some kind of special meaning to you?
Cruachan is a name given to a cave in Ireland that was allegedly the entrance to the celtic otherworld (Tir na nOg). When Christianity came into Ireland, the monks, in a bid to convert pagans to Christianity, claimed the cave was the entrance to hell. We chose it for the band name because of its celtic significance.

And what were your influences to start Cruachan in the first place? And how did you came up with the idea to mix heavymetal/blackmetal with traditional Irish folkmusic as you were the first to do this?
We started in a band called Minas Tirith, singing only about Tolkien stuff, we had a few folky parts but nothing major. When we heard Skyclads first album we decided to take our folk parts to the next level, I have always liked folk music and this transition was easy for me.

What albums do you listen to the most these days and why these albums?
Mostly I have been listening to Therion, I think they are an amazing band and deserve a lot of respect, I also have been listening to old Anthrax and Nuclear Assault aswell as No Doubt, System of a Down and Clannad.

What else can we expect in the near future from Cruachan?
We are planning to play live a lot more and are about to start the writing process for the next album.

Thanks alot for this interview! As usual the last words are completely yours!!!
Thank you for the time, it is a pleasure.

Want more info on Cruachan?
Visit Cruachan's band information page!

Other articles for Cruachan:

Festival		Arnhem Metal Meeting 2007»	by Kimberley 14 Feb, 2008
Album review		The Morrigan's Call»	by Isaak 19 Jan, 2007
News article		New album completed»	by Marcel 01 Mar, 2006
Classick review		Thuata na gael»	by Ron 31 Oct, 2005
Album review		Pagan»	by Marcel 27 Mar, 2004
Album review		folklore»	by Kasper 09 Feb, 2002
Interview		The Celts are marching on...»	by Kasper 22 Nov, 2001
Album review		Ride on»	by Ron 01 Apr, 2001