ARGONATH "The Cattle Raid of Cooley" Double Cassette Tape (w/ slipcase)

Double-Cassette release in pro-printed slipcase with flat-woven Argonath logo patch (patch is no longer available - sorry!)

"The energy and devotion to the source material is almost paltitaple with a record that is both mastered in its themes but also its dreamy melodies..." - Hollywoodmetal.com

"The album, a little raw here and there, is the best Argonath has done thus far. The story is engaging, the music is emotional, swelling here and there to emphasis its points but not being overly insistent...This is the album you must unequivocally buy." - Resoundingfootsteps.wordpress.com

"An extremely compelling release, notable for its sense of sonic scope within the boundaries of dungeon synth...I think that in the near future folks in this scene will look to “The Cattle Raid of Cooley” as a kind of survey album akin to Nargaroth’s “Black Metal Ist Krieg”, something that skillfully shows off a wide selection of the possibilities of the genre at this point in its history." - Nahadoth (fellow musician)

Argonath presents a concept album based on the early medieval Irish tale of 'Táin Bó Cúailnge' (The Cattle Raid of Cooley).

Queen Medb of Connaught has strong intentions on claiming the Brown Bull of Cooley in order to match the wealth of her husband King Aillil. Her ambitions start a war with Ulster who fields the teenage hero Cú Chulainn to the battlefield, the only Ulsterman free from a curse that is restraining the armies of the kingdom. The story follows the battle for the Bull, Cú Chulainn's encounters with the armies of Medb, his meeting with the Goddess Morrigan, a bloody battle with his half-brother and the final battle for the bull between the two armies.

In what is Argonath's longest release to date, it attempts to cover each aspect of the story sourcing Kinsella's translation as it's guide. Musically, it fuses the dark ambience and drawn out sound of traditional dungeon synth and the melodies of both neo-classical and neo-folk music with an Irish and Celtic aesthetic.