Cnoc An Tursa - The Forty Five

A stirring testament to Britain’s own battles in the north

Cover art for Cnoc An Tursa - The Forty Five

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Recorded in Germany and their native Scotland, the second full-length from Cnoc An Tursa is a concept album based on the Jacobite uprising in 1745, which saw Bonnie Prince Charlie wage war on King George II in a bid to overthrow his throne. Equal parts brutal (The Last Of The Stuarts) and beautiful (Flora MacDonald), this epic offering is a cinematic affair that sees the Falkirk four-piece firing on all cylinders creatively. Bursting with ambition, The Forty Five has pushed the band out of their comfort zone and features lengthier arrangements such as Fuigheall, integrates blastbeats with clean vocals on Wha Wadna Fecht For Charlie and utilises bagpipes and 50-piece orchestras for Will Ye No Come Back Again to tell their tale. The Yellow Locks Of Charlie is a big moment on the album and chiming keys, stirring riffs, gang vocals and battle cries help paint a scene of blood-splattered highlands and fierce skirmishes, while Sound The Pibroch is a ferocious, thunderously heavy fusion of Celtic rock and black metal.