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Eluveitie: Evocation I - the arcane dominion
22/05/09 || Euthanatos
The lonely horn/bagpipe at the beginning, with the somber narration, sets the perfect mood for Eluveitie’s new album. Usually a band that blends metal and folk in the vein of acts like Skyclad, Waylander, Cruachan and so on, this time Eluveitie has gone completely acoustic, and they focus mainly on the female vocals. The result, at least to me, is a much more interesting album than what they normally release.
Even the acoustic guitars are on the background this time around. The fiddle, violin and vocals are all upfront, with some rare male vocals as a counterpoint in the background. I also found the choice for a regular drum sound instead of more traditional folk percussion to be an inspired choice. It makes the music sound a lot more energetic, pulsating even, instead of the more tribal feel of some percussive instruments (but there are examples of these instruments in songs like “Within the Grove”, which differ nicely from the pack).
Anna Murphy is definitely the highlight here, no doubt about it. Her vocals are prominent throughout “Evocation”, as is her fiddle playing, essential to Eluveitie’s sound. There are also a lot of spoken passages, usually in Gaulish, as are most of the lyrics, which is something admirable, and it certainly gives a lot of credibility to the music and the environment it sets as well.
This is only the first album of two concept releases they intend to make, but if this is any indication of the band’s overall direction, I’ll gladly take it. Bands like Eluveitie and Korpiklaani are frequently in danger of becoming mere supporting acts in the folk metal genre, but I’m glad that, instead, they’re striving for novelty and different things, broadening their horizons with larger concepts and inspired music.
By the way, I swear I’m not being paid by the Swiss government to keep reviewing bands from their country. I don’t know what the deal is, but there certainly has been an impressive batch of groups hailing from the minute chocolate haven.
The cover: Cernunnos in all his horned glory, god of the underworld and of, er… stags.
7 horned celtic deities out of 10.
- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: Nuclear Blast
- Website: www.eluveitie.ch
- Band
- Anna Murphy: vocals, hurdy gurdy
- Chrigel Glanzmann: vocals, acoustic guitar, uilleann pipes, bodhràn, tin and low whistles
- Ivo Henzi: guitars
- Simeon Koch: guitars, vocals
- Kay Brem: bass
- Merlin Sutter: drums
- Meri Tadic: fiddle, vocals
- Patrick “Päde” Kistler: bagpipes, whistles
- Tracklist
- 01. Sacrapos – At First Glance
- 02. Brictom
- 03. A Girl’s Oath
- 04. The Arcane Dominion
- 05. Within the Grove
- 06. The Cauldron of Renascence
- 07. Nata
- 08. Omnos
- 09. Carnutian Forest
- 10. Dessumiis Luge
- 11. Gobanno
- 12. Voveso in Mori
- 13. Memento
- 14. Ne Regv Na
- 15. Sacrapos – The Disparaging Last Gaze
