Waylander are a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exampl ...

band influential in the realms of

Celtic metal Celtic metal is a subgenre of folk metal that developed in the 1990s in Ireland. The genre is a fusion of heavy metal and Celtic rock. The early pioneers of the genre were the Irish bands Cruachan, Primordial and Waylander. The genre has since ...

. Formed in 1993, the band blends traditional

Irish folk Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there w ...

with 1990s heavy metal.

Biography

Formed in 1993, Waylander released their debut demo, ''

Once Upon an Era ''Once Upon an Era'' is the first demo album by the Northern Irish Celtic metal band Waylander. It was recorded at Hillcrest Studios Lurgan, County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties ...

'', in early 1995, mixing Irish folk music with

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

. Waylander were soon dubbed folk, Celtic and

pagan metal Pagan metal is a genre of heavy metal music which fuses extreme metal with " the pre-Christian traditions of a specific culture or region" through thematic concept, rustic melodies, unusual instruments or archaic languages, Wiederhorn 2009, p. 6 ...

. In 1996, with the addition of a full-time

tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...

player, Waylander released their second demo, ''

Dawning of a New Age ''Dawning of a New Age'' is the second demo by the Northern Irish Celtic metal Celtic metal is a subgenre of folk metal that developed in the 1990s in Ireland. The genre is a fusion of heavy metal and Celtic rock. The early pioneers of the ge ...

'', which soon gained the band a prominent position in the folk metal scene. This was cemented when Waylander signed to

Century Media Records Century Media Records is a heavy metal record label with offices in the United States, Germany and London. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music for US$17 million. Background Century Media was founded by Robert Kampf and Oli ...

, and in 1998 their debut album was released, entitled ''

Reawakening Pride Once Lost ''Reawakening Pride Once Lost'' is the debut studio album by the Northern Irish Celtic metal band Waylander, released in 1998 by Century Media. The album was re-released in 2006 by the Irish label, Midhir Records. This pressing came with two bo ...

''. A handful of gigs were undertaken to promote this album but label problems and internal strife blunted the potential somewhat. After overcoming some line-up changes, Waylander signed with Blackend Records and released their ''

The Light, the Dark and the Endless Knot ''The Light, the Dark and the Endless Knot'' is the second studio album by the Northern Irish Celtic metal band Waylander. It was released in 2001. Track listing Band line-up *Ciaran O'Hagan - vocals *Dermot O'Hagan - guitars *Peter Boylan - ...

'' album in early 2001. Again internal strife reared up, culminating in numerous line-up changes for several years. Despite this Waylander managed to perform some notable gigs, including the Bloodstock and

Day of Darkness Day of Darkness was the original name of Republic of Ireland, Ireland's D.O.D. Festival. It happened annually in Ballylinan from 2002 to 2008 as a metal music festival. The 2002 line-up was headlined by Primordial. It ran for a second year in ...

festivals, as well as gigs with

Ancient Rites Ancient Rites is a Belgian black metal band formed in 1988. Initially, the lineup consisted of guitar players Johan and Phillip, drummer Stefan, and Gunther Theys on bass and vocals.Rivadavia, Eduardo " Ancient Rites Biography, ''AllMusic'', M ...

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Sabbat The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by many modern pagans, consisting of the year's chief solar events (solstices and equinoxes) and the midpoints between them. While names for each festival vary among dive ...

and

Skyforger Skyforger is a heavy metal band from Latvia which was formed in 1995 out of the remains of doom metal band Grindmaster Dead. Musical style and lyrical themes Most of their songs are about Baltic mythology and warfare; they also play Latvia ...

. In 2005, joining original members ArdChieftain O' Hagan, Michael Proctor, and Den Ferran were Saul McMichael and Gareth Murdock on guitars. Waylander have inked a deal with

Listenable Records Listenable Records is an independent metal label originally founded in 1990 in France. The label specializes in metal, with a focus on extreme metal music. The company has published albums from many acclaimed extreme metal bands, such as Immo ...

and Waylander's new third album, entitled ''

Honour Amongst Chaos ''Honour Amongst Chaos'' is the third studio album by the Northern Irish Celtic metal band Waylander (band), Waylander. It was released in 2008 through Listenable Records, and was the band's first album for seven years. Some versions of the albu ...

'', is "more powerful and beautiful than ever, using a vast array of Irish folk instruments and armed with their passion for metal in its truest form", according to a press release. "Blending epic atmospheres and relentless brutality, ''Honour Amongst Chaos'' reflects the heart and soul of pagan warriors worldwide." Waylander's debut album, ''Reawakening Pride Once Lost'', has been re-released by Midhir Records on CD and vinyl. In 2009, Gareth Murdock left the band to be the new bassist for

Alestorm Alestorm are a Scottish heavy metal band formed in Perth, Scotland. Their music is characterised by a pirate theme, and as a result, they have been dubbed a "pirate metal" band by many critics and their fanbase. The group currently consists o ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1998) * ''

'' (2001) * ''

'' (2008) * '' Kindred Spirits'' (2012) * ''Ériú's Wheel'' (2019)

Demo albums

* ''

'' (1994) * ''

'' (1996)

Members

Current members

*Ciaran O'Hagan –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

*Saul McMichael –

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Dave Briggs –

Irish bouzouki The Irish bouzouki () is an adaptation of the Greek bouzouki (Greek: μπουζούκι). The newer Greek ''tetrachordo'' bouzouki (4 courses of strings) was introduced into Irish traditional music in the mid-1960s by Johnny Moynihan of th ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or othe ...

*Tor Dennison – guitars *Lee McCartney –

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 ...

*Murzo McMurzo – bass

Former Members

*Den Ferren – drums *Jason Barriskill – bass *Baylers – guitars *Peter Boylan – guitars *Dermot O'Hagan – guitars *Michael Proctor – bass *Máirtín Mac Cormaic – tin whistle, bodhrán *Bo Murphy – drums *Owen Bowden – guitars *Nick Shannon – drums *Kevin Canavan – guitars *Fearghal Duffy – guitars *Alan Connolly – guitars *Gareth Murdock – guitars *Ade Mulgrew – guitars *Hugh O'Neill – guitars *Steve Reynolds – bass Timeline

References

External links

*
Official MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waylander Heavy metal musical groups from Northern Ireland Celtic metal musical groups British black metal musical groups British folk metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1993 Listenable Records artists Century Media Records artists