Geasa are a

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 ...

band originating from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Formed by Fergal Purcell and John Kavanagh in 1993 the band combines traditional

Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considera ...

with

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

to form Celtic black metal. They have released one demo album, one EP, and three albums. They came onto the scene in 1994 with the ''Starside'' demo. The demo was widely traded in the underground and attributed to the band's later record deal. The demo itself comprises two distinct sounds; from the epic black metal sounding "Empyrean" and "Warrior" penned by Purcell to the more Celtic sounding "Starside" and "Rite of passage" written mainly by Kavanagh. This black metal sound was lost when Purcell quit the band in 1996, resulting in the band's major and sometimes-lamented change in sound style post ''Starside''.

Etymology

The band derived its name from ' (plural: '), which in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by ...

and folklore, is an idiosyncratic taboo, whether of obligation or prohibition, similar to being under a vow or spell. A ' can be compared with a curse or, paradoxically, a gift. If someone under a ' violates the associated taboo, the infractor will suffer dishonor or even death. On the other hand, the observing of one's ' is believed to bring power. Often it is women who place ' upon men. In some cases, the woman turns out to be a goddess or other sovereignty figure.MacKillop, James (1998) ''A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. Oxford,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

. p.249

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Angel's Cry'' (1999) * ''Fate's Lost Son'' (2003) * ''Godslaughter'' (2005)

Demo albums

* ''Starside'' (1996)

Extended plays

* ''Murder'' (2004)

References

External links

Official Myspace
{{Authority control Celtic metal musical groups Irish black metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1994 Musical quartets Irish folk metal musical groups Season of Mist artists 1994 establishments in Ireland