“Wenches and Rogues” is an amazing blend of Celtic rock and folk metal with a lot of pipes, electric guitar and female vocals. The album kicks off with a fantastic set of bagpipes tunes: the standard “Scotland the Brave” and Mark Saul’s “Hellbound Train”. There are more standards, for instance “The Foggy Dew” featuring male and female vocals and great fiddle and tin whistle arrangements; “Mist Covered Mountains”, a poignant rendition which is one of the album highlights; and “Paddy’s Leather Breeches”, pipes rock at its best.

The other five tracks are self-penned songs. My faves are “Mud Hardy’s“, which is a different number, because fiddle and bodhrán give a traditional twist to the tune, and the closing number “Cervantes”, a folk-metal number featuring bagpipes. “Surrender” and “Twisted” are other metal influenced songs where Kristen shines on vocals. On the other side, “Dark Island” is a slower number showcasing pipes and fiddle, and “To our Dead” is an interesting song too.

Wenches and Rogues debut album can be bought from Bandcamp. Click on the songs below, give them a listen and, if you like them as much as I do, then buy the album.

Tracklist:

01. Scotland the Brave / Hellbound Train 05:27
02. Surrender 02:56
03. Mud Hardy’s 01:08
04. The Foggy Dew 03:58
05. Mist Covered Mountains 04:24
06. Paddy’s Leather Breeches 02:11
07. Dark Island 03:13
08. Twisted 03:29
09. To Our Dead 05:35
10. Cervantes 03:2

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Review by Kinksmarkham