Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Since Dave Fitzgerald reintroduced the British church to its Celtic roots, through lona's music, there has been a fair few who've jumped on the bandwagon but Skellig aren't one of them! Originally conceived in 1990, it's taken six years to bring to birth and finally their debut CD delivers the goods. Atmospheric, powerful, imagine Wayne Hussey singing in front of Runrig and you're in the right ballpark but that doesn't take account of Lisa Burness's sublime violin playing which acts as a counterpoint to Aidan Emptage's furious guitar. Lead singer Chris Burness pens the songs marrying rock, folk and Celtic influences from the mournful pain of "Who's Crying Now" to the insistent melody of "Only The Light". My faves are the ferocious "To The Very heart" which opens the album with a brooding strident guitar riff. Piles of atmosphere and strong vocals swiftly followed by the title cut which is a Celtic blues, if you can imagine that! "The Calling", previously featured on last year's Greenbelt fringe album on Plankton, is a Celtic romp anchored in some swirling rock guitar. Skellig have done well to create a unique sound bleeding their various influences into a passionate confident album which will appeal to lovers of Runrig, U2, lona, etc without ever sounding derivative of those bands. The whole being so much bigger than the sum of their influences!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.