3 Celtic rock bands to listen to at least once

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Drawing from classic rock, modern rock and Celtic influences, the genre of Celtic rock, which was born in the 1970s, is a blend of folk and rock, which despite its name was not created exclusively by people from the UK. Celtic influences can be found in the music of folk-rock groups from many other European countries, including Germany, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Celtic culture dates back to ancient times. At the end of the Bronze Age, the people now known as the Celts lived in Central Europe and around the Mediterranean. During the Iron Age, they moved north to settle in what is now Britain. There they learned to make tools from iron. They also learned to make instruments to accompany their singing which resulted in new and beautiful music.

Classical rock music is a much newer genre. Born in the early 1950s, the genre took its name in 1955 when a disc jockey named Alain released coined the term “rock and roll”. Since then, rock music has long been associated with a certain lifestyle and, among other derogatory terms, has even been referred to as “devil’s music”, as the style has been (and still is) often associated with promiscuity and to drugs. Although the stigma surrounding rock music has faded a lot in recent decades due to its cultural ubiquity, when rock music first entered the music scene in the 1950s, many people found the songs the most popular of the genre offensive and even guilty.

Celtic rock, or European rock (to use a broader and more inclusive term), was born when groups from Ireland, England and Scotland decided to combine traditional Celtic folk music with elements of the new genre. rock and roll. Use traditional Celtic instruments such as harp, flute, tin whistle, and violin alongside rock instruments such as guitar, bass, and steel drums, Celtic bands, and singers such as Donovan, Slim Lizzy and slips created a sort of “fusion” of traditional Celtic folk music and classic rock and roll in the 1970s.

Richie Blackmore and Candace Night of Blackmore’s Night (Image via Fanpop)

As of 2017, there are many successful European rock groups producing Celtic influenced songs and albums; Blackmore’s night, The eyes of the leaves, Enter the Haggis and within Temptation are just a few examples. Although there are many people who have not discovered European folk rock music, the popularity of certain Celtic folk rock groups across Europe and the United States is a testament to the relevance of this new style.

Blackmore’s night is a group that draws inspiration from both classical rock and Celtic folk music. The main singer of the group, Candice Night, is an American singer and lyricist. She is married to the band’s guitarist, British rock legend Ritchie blackmore. Before co-creating Blackmore’s Night with his wife, Ritchie Blackmore played guitar for rock groups. Rainbow and Dark purple. The combination of Night’s Celtic-inspired lyrics and vocals and Blackmore’s rock-influenced guitar tracks gives the band their unique folk-rock sound.

Blackmore’s Night created ten studio albums in 2017. Their first album was released in 1997 and was called “Shadow of the Moon”. Some of their other popular albums are “Secret Voyage”, “Fires at Midnight” and their most recent album, “Dancer and the Moon”. Most of the songs on these albums contain lyrics or melodies taken directly from traditional folk songs or stories from all over Europe. In fact, a song, “The clock is turning, ”Was one of the first songs composed by Night and Blackmore, and contains a melody written in the 1500s by Tielman Susatto. Other songs, such as “Troika“, bear a distinct Russian folk influence.”Toast see you tomorrow”Is a drinking song with a medieval Celtic tone that is both upbeat and easy to dance to.

One of the most interesting songs on Blackmore’s Night is “Lorelei,”A ballad on the mythical German river goddess of the Rhine. Lorelei is a beautiful water nymph with golden eyes who attracts boatmen to her rock, where she seduces and drowns them. While the song’s fast tempo and whimsical melody makes it upbeat and fun, the lyrics speak to the dark and mythical heart of the legend of Lorelei.

While Blackmore’s Night is based in Britain at the heart of Celtic culture, there are many folk-rock groups in other parts of Europe that draw inspiration from Celtic music. An example is the Dutch symphonic folk-rock group within Temptation. Launched in 1995, the ensemble originally had only two members: the guitarist Robert westerholt and singer Sharon den adel. Temptation songs are known to tell stories. In fact, their 2011 studio work, “The Unforgiving,” was a concept album meant to tell a complex story, and was accompanied by short films and comics that helped tell the parts of the story left out of the picture. songs.

Although Within Temptation has been called a symphonic metal band and even a gothic rock band, many of their songs contain elements of folk music. Some of the most popular songs from Within Temptation include “Ice Queen”, “Shot in the Dark”, “Jillian (I’d Give My Heart)” and “Sinéad”. The title “Sinéad” comes from the Irish female given name, which is the Celtic equivalent of the English given name Janet.

Another iconic European folk-rock group with notable Celtic influences is Night dream. Although this group has been classified as a symphonic metal group, the use of Celtic flutes, harp, tempos, and melodies in songs such as “Above the hills and far away”(A cover of the original song by the Celtic folk-rock musician Gary moore), “Moon Dance” and “The last of the savages”Clearly underline the group’s love for Celtic folk music.

Like the majority of songs in Within Temptation, Nightwish tends to write and perform songs that tell a story. “Over the Hills and Far Away” tells the story of a man wrongly accused of theft, who is sentenced to ten years in prison. Meanwhile, he writes letters to his lover, whom he is forced to leave behind when he is taken away to be locked up. “Islander”Tells the mystical story of an old man living on a small island, and of his last trip to the end of the world. “Nemo”, Which is Latin for no one, is a song about a man who feels helpless and lost, as if the world has forgotten his name.

While all of these singers and bands have their own sounds, stories, and even genre classifications, they have one thing in common: they all took elements of traditional Celtic folk music and merged them with elements of classical and modern rock. The resulting genre is an exciting and unique blend, showing that the combination of sounds from different cultures can give rise to new and wonderful styles of music.

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