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History
Cruachan (kroo-a-khawn) is a Celtic and black metal band from Dublin, Ireland that has been active since the 1990s. They have been acclaimed as having "gone the greatest lengths of anyone in their attempts to expand" the genre of folk metal. They are recognised as one of the founders of the genre of folk metal. With a specific focus on Celtic music and the use of Celtic mythology in their lyrics, Cruachan's style of folk metal is known as Celtic metal. The band named themselves after the archaeological site of Rathcroghan in Ireland also known as Cruachan.
Keith Fay had formed a Tolkien-inspired black metal band by the name of Minas Tirith in 1991. Around the same time, he began listening to more folk music and picked up Skyclad's debut album The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth. Originally released in 1990, this "ambitious" and "groundbreaking" album made an impact on Fay and he set out to combine black metal with the folk music of Ireland. In 1992, Keith Fay formed Cruachan with a demo recording distributed in 1993. Keith Fay also credits the Irish rock band Horslips as a "huge influence on Cruachan," further noting that "what they were doing in the 70's is the equivalent of what we do now."
