Can you include “Pagan” or “Folk” elements into Metal without directly sounding like Ensiferum? Answer: Yes you can! If you take the less obvious road and really put some effort into it! Example: The upcoming debut album by Fós called Níl mo chroí in aon rud out on January 27 via Fiadh Productions. You can listen exclusively to the whole record here on Veil of Sound! Enjoy!

So how did the Dublin-based project do it? Well, first of all by defining what makes “Irish Folk” or “Gaelic Folklore” so successful? The duo then decided that the Irish way of telling folktales through song is the element for them, so they are following the Irish sean-nos tradition. If you need a good example for that kind of vocalizing folk tales, listen to the songs on the successful The Witcher-TV show which were oftentimes written and performed by Declan De Barra, whom the real nerds will surely remember as the voice behind Non-Intentional Lifeform or Clann Zu. Susan ni Cholmáin, the vocalist in Fós surely does a great job of performing her melodies and the duo is clearly proud of it as they clearly state on their Bandcamp page that “No vocal pitch correction was used on this album.”.

But the vocals alone are not the only mesmerizing thing on this record, the most amazing thing is the way that Susan and Fionn Murray embraced these harmonies with songs somewhere between Post-Rock and Post-Metal, or Ambient and Drone if you prefer these terms. The songs can be hard-hitting like the second track “Bádai na Scadán” which might be the hardest track on the record. On the other hand you have a track like “Slán le Maigh” which is pure uplifting bliss when Susan’s voice and the ascending Post-Rock guitar line up for a dance that is much more than the simple sum of its parts.

Even if you aren’t fluent in the Modern Irish tongue, these songs will keep you spellbound and on the edge of your seats, for sure. You can preorder a vinyl copy of the album via Fiadh Productions or go to the band’s Bandcamp page to purchase a digital copy. Whatever you do, please do not miss out on this amazing record!