The second coming of Made In My Bedroom 2 from Ceolskog, AKA Adam Helliwell is another superbly crafted slab of Folk Metal, tinged with uniqueness and filled with potential.
Following on from its predecessor, Adam has stepped up to the plate and come forth with a more riff laden album. Technically more proficient and just as lyrically compelling with its whimsical storytelling.
Again, it’s a journey full of adventure and exploration, with a hint of sadness and great instrumental of the nursery rhyme, The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
Although this is a finely tuned offering, I can’t help but wonder if there is room in the future to explore other merging genres and see where the creativity takes Ceolskog. There is a great deal of untapped potential lurking even deeper and I feel this is only the tip of the iceberg, Adam.
Ceolskog is the solo project of Adam Helliwell, a singer and guitarist from Hamilton (formerly of IronStein and Z Amigos). Ceol means music in Irish Gaelic, and skog means forest in Norwegian and Swedish. The name also doubles as his hiking and nature-themed YouTube channel.
The primary genre of Ceolskog is folk metal, a cross between heavy metal and traditional folk music (particularly Celtic and Nordic), but also touches upon other genres, such as country rock, power metal and acoustic folk. Think of it like The Proclaimers meets Falkenbach meets Creedence Clearwater Revival meets the Viking metal albums of Bathory.
Adam is a self-taught guitarist, and studied music at Vision College where he took a vocal major. He didn't buy his first guitar until age 19, a year after he joined his first band. He has recorded four Ceolskog albums and three EPs in his bedroom, released between 2015 and 2022.