A sticker saying: “by member of Sol Invictus & Lorchestra noir” is probably supposed to draw the attention of people who like these bands, but Gaë Bolg has little incommon with Sol Invictus and definately nothing with l’Orchestra Noir. The thing that Gaë Bolg and Sol Invictus do have incommon, are folky elements. Whereas Sol Invictus is pretty folky as a whole, with Gaë Bolg it is more an undertone.
But was does this band with the strange name sound like then? Well, imagine fierce drumming, a lot of copper (horn and trumpet) and victorious male singing and you will have an idea. Actually this is more a militant cd than a folky one, but there are some medievalish tones to be discovered. As a whole the cd reminds a bit of warrior-movey-soundtracks, but in a lot better way. As a matter of fact, this cd is bloody brilliant and if texts were enclosed, it would be a nice cd to sing along.
The title is a line that appears in old Irish poems/songs and John Barleycorn seems to be a more or less legendary figure. It even seems that there is some pagan festival with the name “John Barleycorn Must Die”. Maybe the rememberance of the man’s beheading? I don’t really know, this is all that I could find.
The of the artwork reminds a bit of early cds of The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud by the way. <13/6/00><4>