:''Cluain Tarbh is also the name of an Irish town from which the album takes its name.'' ''Cluain Tarbh'' ( Irish for ''Meadow of Bulls'') is the Irish Celtic metal band

Mael Mórdha Mael Mórdha ( , ) are an Irish doom metal band from Dublin, Ireland. Its name can also be written in traditional Irish typography, as Mael Mórḋa. The band's music melds doom metal with Irish folk music to create what has been referred to ...

's debut studio album. It was released in September 2005. The album name, along with the band name, can be written as the cover suggests, using Traditional Irish typography. The name would then be, "Cluain Tarḃ." The album contains eight tracks, the shortest being ''An Tús'' at 0:56 long, and the longest being ''I Am the Wench's Bane'' at 10:15 long. The album is a collection of popular and newly written material spanning several years in the band's history. The cover art depicts the Battle of Clontarf or Cath Chluain Tarbh and this is the primary theme of the album's art and title track. The man on the left is a native Irish Gael, presumably fighting on the side of

Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domi ...

, High King of Ireland. The man on the right appears to be a

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

, fighting on the side of the King of Leinster, Mael Mórdha mac Murchada. Both men are engaged in one-on-one combat against one another. The album contains lyrics in both English and Irish.

Track listing

#"An Tús" (''The Beginning'') – 0:56 #"Winds of One Thousand Winters" – 5:51 #"The Serpent and the Black Lake" – 6:55 #"Cluain Tarbh" (''Meadow of Bulls'') – 6:45 #"I Am the Wench's Bane" – 10:15 #"The Man All Hate to Love" – 4:21 #"Pauper of Souls" – 5:02 #"Realms of Insanity" – 6:41

Song information

An Tús

"An Tús" is the introduction to the album. It fades in (and out) and is what sounds like a war tune with pipes. This is possibly mimicking what could be the lead-up the Battle of Clontarf, used as a

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

for the entire album.

Winds of One Thousand Winters

This song is the beginning of

's signature Ceol Breatha Gaelach on the album. This is one of the sample tracks which can be heard on their website. As explained by the band: Composed: 2003

The Serpent and the Black Lake

This song is stated by the band to be about the "Lure of

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

". Composed: 1997

Cluain Tarbh

The title track. This song tells the story of the Battle of Clontarf and can be considered the centrepiece of the album. From the band's website: '' This is about the lead up and aftermath of that most famous of battles fought in the Meadow of Bulls (Cluain Tarbh - Clontarf) on

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

1014 between the then high king of

Éire () is Irish for "Ireland", the name of both an island in the North Atlantic and the sovereign state of the Republic of Ireland which governs 84% of the island's landmass. The latter is distinct from Northern Ireland, which covers the remainde ...

Brian Boru Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domi ...

and the king of Leinster,

. The pace is fast and furious (for

I mean) with pounding guitars and

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, whistle and bellowing vocals.'' Composed: 2003

I Am the Wench's Bane

This is the longest song on the album. It is said to be "on the relationship between the Wench and Her Bane". Composed: 2001

The Man All Hate to Love

From the band's website: '' If Cluain Tarbh is fast then this song is misery incarnate. Slow with lots of backing vocals,

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

and miserable guitars. The title pretty much explains the theme of this little ditty. If you ever feel down listening to this song will make you realise that nothing could be as terrible as what is expressed here.'' Composed: 2003

Pauper of Souls

This song is stated to be about "the merits of

belief A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take i ...

over non-belief". Composed: 2001

Realms of Insanity

This song is apparently "open to interpretation". No further information is given. Composed: 1996

External links

Official Mael Mórdha Website
{{Authority control 2005 debut albums Mael Mórdha albums