Celtic Legacy don't believe in doing things the easy way. Not for them the never ending cycle of tour-album-tour-album. No no, these guys insist on losing at least 2 members between albums & one of them has to be the vocalist. Then there has to be 5 years between albums. It's not easy, the band's motto seems to be 'No pain, No gain'. Here we are in 2008, the band's main men Dave Morrissey & Dave Boylan have kept the Legacy's Metal flame alight through what I'm sure to them has been a tough few years since their last album 'Resurrection' which was given a rousing reception by Imarocker's in-house expert on all things TRUE METAL! Tazz (Read here) among many others in the European Metal community. Unfortunately the line-up that recorded 'Resurrection' only lasted a further 8 months leaving the two Dave's with no option but to work on new material & work towards surrounding themselves with a new & stable line up Finally in January 2007 the new version of Celtic Legacy, Dave Morrissey- Guitars/Keyboards, Dave Boylan- Bass/Vocals, Ciaran Ennis- Vocals, Keith Hendley- Guitars/Vocals & Conor Gillen- Drums/Tin Whistle began a 5 month process of rehearsing old & new material for both a live set & as preparation for entering the studio again. This happened at the end of June 2007 as the band spent 21 days spread over 5 months recording & mixing the new album which would be entitled 'Guardian of Eternity'. A whimsical Celtic instrumental passage eases the listener into the album before the Metal assault of 'Celtica' begins. This tune had to be written as a Live set opener. It's a pounding, driving track that immediately made me imagine the band hitting the stage in a fog of dry ice & flashing lights. This sets the scene for the rest of the album & will no doubt get those all important heads banging in the Clubs of Ireland & beyond. This album is a feast of Classic Metal, in today's climate of extreme Metal becoming accepted to an extent by the mainstream this album is an island of Denim & Leather in a sea of Corpse paint. 'Afterworld' is a track that first shows showcases the vocal talents of new chanter Ciaran Ennis. His voice is a mix of Geoff Tate & Bruce Dickinson with the Queensryche man's theatrical phrasing shining through. When someone comments that a Metal album has loads of "Melody" it can sometimes be seen as a backhanded compliment, as if the band are selling out or, whisper it under your breath, becoming more "Commercial". Well, I can say that this album has more melody than Resurrection without in anyway being backhanded. There are hooks all over this album that stick in the head & the solos seem more fluid & natural, something which is evident in the fade out solo on 'For Evermore'. The production is crisp with every instrument clear in the mix, the harmony guitars are well used & not overdone and both guitarists' own style is evident throughout. Drummer Conor Gillen seems to have had a ball recording this album, 'Absent Friends' see him hold down a fast paced rhythm whilst interjecting lightning fills into the mix. The quality of the song writing is high throughout. The band have produced 10 songs that all could fit into a live setting. Download only single 'Erinmor' (Available here) races along in Iron Maiden territory, 'Dance on yer grave' gets a thumbs up from me for spelling & 'Forgive me' is a mid paced Rocker. Now, onto the final track on the album which also happens to be the title track 'Guardian of Eternity'. The eponymous 'Resurrection' from the last album was a 10 minute epic that was for me the highlight of the album. Could this last tune match up to these high standards? The answer has to be yes. At over eleven minutes long it wins on length anyway. Kicking off with a lone guitar picking out a gentle refrain before Ciaran Ennis & a Tin Whistle join in the song slowly builds up over four minutes until the main body of the song kicks in with a big riff for another Celtic flavoured track that bounces along at a very merry pace before ending abruptly after 3 minutes of some of the best guitar work on the album. All in all, another cracking album from a band that have had more than their fair share of bad luck. In today's climate where the Classic Metal sound that Celtic Legacy excel in is thriving on the Mainland Europe I have no doubt that there is a big audience out there who will lap this album up. Their Celtic Metal deserves the attention of us closer to home as well. The band are working on a series of gigs later in the year, let's hope that the beered up Metalheads out there reward the band after a difficult few years.

I already knew about Celtic Frost and Celtic Glasgow, and now Celtic Legacy can join in on my own little Celtic clan. These five Irish blokes celebrate their tenth band anniversary this year and to round up the festivities they will also release their third full length album 'Guardian Of Eternity'. This album contains almost an hour of music and during my listening session I got a little surprised. The music is just fine, so why did this band not have a bigger reputation? Celtic Legacy play metal that can roughly be marked somewhere between Iron Maiden and Gary Moore's 'Wild Frontier' era hard rock. The band members know what they are doing and they know how to use their instruments. The songs are played decently, often a long and good guitar solo shows up (in 'For Evermore' and 'Erinmor' for example) and the sporadic Irish intermezzos give an extra touch to the album. The voice of singer Ciaran Ennis sometimes sounds a little bit like Queensrÿche's Geoff Tate (just listen to the beginning of 'King Of Thieves') but in general Celtic Legacy have managed to deliver an album that has got "a face of its own". The nine songs plus intro are pleasant to listen to, and together with the clear production and the nice artwork my conclusion about 'Guardian Of Eternity' is that it is an album that really deserves some attention.

CELTIC LEGACY – “Guardian Of Eternity” CD ’08 (Eternal Legacy Records) You know, it’s funny. There are albums you feel good about from a strict musical standpoint. You know, the new MARS VOLTA comes out, makes you cream your jeans and you just can’t stop talking about it. But from a personal perspective, it’s not like you can call Omar up and say “Hey, the new record is really smokin’, bro!” There’s other stuff where, even though the record isn’t a world-beater, you’ve known the guys forever and you’re just damn proud of ‘em for keeping pushing till they got the sucker out. That’s cool. But, every now & then, somebody you know who has been through, not a world, but a galaxy full of shit, either personally or industry/band-related hacks their way through the rubble with a machete made of guts, determination and balls and when the smoke clears, checks in with a work of art that nails your ass to the backboard. Enter Ireland’s CELTIC LEGACY, in particular main man Dave Morrissey (guitars/keyboards) & his sidekick, Dave Boylan (bass/vocals). Since their debut, several years back (reviewed on a way-old site of mine, where they were also interviewed), these guys have delivered a couple of the most top-notch, consistent melodic metal albums out there…that nowhere near enough people even know about. I am not kidding when I say that this band’s initial 2 offerings were not only right up there with the best of modern-day Riot but were even better. Great enough, but when you consider the fact that they have faced one uphill battle after another, more trials and tribulations than a card-carrying Mets fan at a Yankees convention…well, it’s admirable that they even made it to the point of recording a 3rd album. Whether it be finding musicians reliable enough to keep a line-up stable for a month or labels who could get their heads out of Staind clones asses long enough to listen to actually good music, Dave Morrissey has refused to give up. He’s kept pressing on and, with Boylan as his faithful compatriot has put together a line-up that has recorded “Guardian Of Eternity” and released the record on the band’s own label. Now completed by Ciaran Ennis (vocals), Keith Hendley (guitar/vocals) & Conor Gillen (drums) CELTIC LEGACY have come up aces on absolutely every front. Throughout the 10 tracks here (clocking in at nearly 58 minutes…think there’s any guitar solos?!), this 5-piece from Ireland put on a clinic here that sees them reach the summit of the melodic heavy metal mountain. From the very opening piece, “The Sentinel,” the first thing that hits you here is the production, handled by Mr. Morrissey himself. This is the kind of work we used to expect in the ‘80’s from people like Chris Tsangrides or Martin Birch. You won’t be able to ignore the guitar playing either. Between Dave Morrissey and Keith Hendley, they must unleash probably, oh 100 solos or so each throughout the course of the disc, including a plethora of harmony leads. Every one slides into it’s respective place perfectly, never overdone, always right between the eyes. Then you’ve got the vocals of Ciaran Ennis. Picture a cross between the apex of Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin & Geoff Tate and you may be on the right track. Through cuts like “King Of Thieves,” “Afterworld” and the mammoth 11 minute closing title cut, this is 5 Blue Angel jets coordinating the upper echelons of power, fury and stunning ability into a sterling work of metallic art. Do we even need to get into the fantastic lyrical concepts, a Celtic tour de force that would make Mr. Lynott himself proud? My thinking is this, friends: Those words you have cluttering up your brain like Riot, Helloween, Queensryche, Jag Panzer…you can go ahead and free up some space in your cranium, you may not need them anymore. And, if you still have some surplus brain cells laying around you might give the Dave’s Morrissey & Boylan a call. I’m sure they’d be happy to meet you down at the corner pub to kill ‘em off.