Geasa are a

Celtic metal Celtic metal is a subgenre of folk metal that emerged in Ireland during the early 1990s. It fuses the intensity of heavy metal with traditional Celtic music, incorporating instruments such as the tin whistle, bodhrán, and uilleann pipes. The g ...

band originating from Dublin, Ireland. 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 Celts (modern), Celtic people of Northwestern Europe (the modern Celtic nations). It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and ...

with

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

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 indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

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 publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. 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 Irish musical quartets Irish folk metal musical groups Season of Mist artists 1994 establishments in Ireland