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Eluveitie: Slania
06/07/10 || Altmer
And the folk metal plague review streak continues. Like stated in my previous review of this band, it’s girly metal. Chicks probably dig it (I know mine does so that solves that issue). But I’ve always felt that this bunch set them apart from the rest of them folk metal yodeling entities, and I don’t know whether that’s the crack (oh wait I’m a drug abstainer), or the good old mental disorders kicking in. It must be the latter one, then, no?
This album is actually their best album, and it’s mostly because Eluveitie try their best to not suck hard. The actual metal part of this music is a mix of In Flames and Dark Tranquillity and hits that midway mark between melody and brutality, but then there are layers of flutes, hurdy-gurdies, violins, and what-the-fuck-ever these guys play and to most people this softens up the music incredibly. They are probably right in their own little way, but I don’t hear it. To me it’s just strong tunes with melodies that happen to be carried by flutes instead of lead guitars. I suppose that makes me a folk metal wanker, which is fine by me. Of course some material is incredibly saccharine still; “Inis Mona” is the perfect example of how folk metal tries to go pop by inserting some traditional tune into a metal framework. Disgusting? Maybe, but catchy as all-fuck (and the intro to “Bloodstained Ground” more than makes up for it).
The other good part is that the vocals are ten kinds of awesome and that you can understand this guy’s growls really well. Occasionally there are female tit-vocals and they are of sufficiently high quality too – the chick has a nice voice and doesn’t overdo it with operatic vibrato bullshit. It’s nice and natural, like all the folk instruments used on this album are originals and organic (there is nothing worse than a keyboard imitating a flute). I really dig the sincerity that this band brings, even though I will always wonder why this band has toured with Kreator of all things.
If you are also a pretentious nerd next to a metal lover, you will love the lyrics – it’s all based on ancient Gaulish history. A lot of research and time has gone into this shit, a novelty among many metal bands and it’s something I can really appreciate – the art of making a work of art. These guys clearly burn for their history and I love that way more than the generic teenage Satanism so common in many metal bands, or the glorified Tolkien worship of power metal bands. I think they even hired a pro Celtologist to help them with the lyrics and history. Of course they don’t quote the lyrics directly and fashion them slightly into stories of their own, and give their own interpretation of it, but that’s the beauty of music and the beauty of interpretation in general.
The last thing about this album is that the songs are generally the strongest on this album. Catchy ass choruses are strewn all over this album, like bread crumbs in a duck pond. It’s really a testament to how well this bunch are able to write songs with a beginning and an end that makes this album work instead of fail. The only thing I don’t get still is those lame folk instrumentals that take up 1/5th of the album’s run-time. Drop or shorten those and you’d score even higher with me, because I find the flow of the album extremely interrupted by them and I’d rather hear more of the metal (these fuckos have an acoustic album so if I wanted that shit I’d just put that on). The songs are also generally more memorable than on the last disc, which was pretty good too but not as all-encompassing as this one (some of the songs there just fall flat).
This may be one of the few times on GD you see an album like this praised, and it may well be the last time that it happens too, but I happen to really like this album and I think you should give it a shot. Most of you won’t like it due to taste issues and that’s fine but there’s actual talent and skill on offer here that most bands of their ilk don’t offer.
Recommendation: Cut out the interludes and you have yourself an album with some really strong material next time.
- Information
- Released: 2008
- Label: Nuclear Blast
- Website: www.eluveitie.ch
- Band
- Chrigel Glanzmann: vocals, tin and low whistles, acoustic guitar, uilleann pipes, bodhran
- Simeon Koch: guitars
- Ivo Henzi: guitars
- Rafi Kirder: bass
- Merlin Sutter: drums
- Anna Murphy: vocals, hurdy-gurdy
- Meri Tadic: violin, vocals
- Sevan Kirder: Irish flute, tin whistles, bagpipes
- Tracklist
- 01. Samon
- 02. Primordial Breath
- 03. Inis Mona
- 04. Gray Sublime Archon
- 05. Anagantios
- 06. Bloodstained Ground
- 07. The Somber Lay
- 08. Slania’s Song
- 09. Giamonios
- 10. Tarvos
- 11. Calling the Rain
- 12. Elembivos
