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Album Reviews : Eluveitie – Origins

By on July 27, 2014

Eluveitie are everything to me. Dramatic as it may sound, this band can do absolutely no wrong in my eyes (or ears as the case may be), and that has just been further proven with the release of their sixth album, Origins. Take a look at the tracklist, the names of some of those songs itself are enough to make you get lost in a world of beautiful Celtic imagination, one which ONLY  this band can induce. Hailing from Zurich, Switzerland, Eluveitie have created yet another masterpiece with this one, redefining the beauty that comes along with concept albums, especially one that is filled with the enchanting melodies of folk metal.

‘Origins’ in traditional Eluveitie fashion begins with the title track which is an introductory narrative with the most mesmerising flow of melodies that will make you want to cry and windmill simultaneously. This only gives you a taste of how amazingly well this album and every track on it is structured. ‘The Nameless’ continues the same tune, only picking up pace , becoming heavier with every note. Literally two songs into the album, it is overwhelming how massive the sound is. Chrigel’s majestic and deep growls coupled with the symphonic segments redefines perfection. ‘From Darkness’ then takes you into a little medieval Scandinavian village where the skies boast an abundance of natural beauty and the humble inhabitants celebrate in sheer elation. New violinist/fiddler Nicole Ansperger has without a doubt, proved her worth in this band as she effortlessly creates magical tunes from her fiddle, a major contributing factor to the ‘riverdance’ feel on this release. Throughout ‘Origins’, you’ll notice the spotlight being thrown on Nicole and her mad violionist skills quite often, and it’s brilliant to see how she’s adopted the classic Eluveitie sound and made it her own.

‘Celtos ‘- one of the more energetic and fun classic ‘tavern’ songs with a beautiful mix of Gaelic (Gaulish) and English lyrics which Chrigel has a knack to switch between both as if theres hardly any difference. A lot of the time I have to strain my ears to figure out which language it is. Anna Murphy shines yet again on this track but I’ll be gushing over her later on. The entire structure of this particular song proves the versatility that Eluveitie are capable of, also audible on ‘Sucellos’ . It’s easy to assume that variation isn’t much of an option when a band classifies themselves under one specific genre, in this case, ‘New Wave Of Folk Metal’. But listen to Celtos and you’ll understand what I mean!‘Origins’ also sees Eluveitie comfortably establishing themselves as much of a melodic death metal band as they are Celtic folk. On tracks like the awesome ‘Virunnus’, ‘Sucellos’ and ‘The Silver Sister’, there are elements of melodeath, a series of supersonic , technical riffs, the shredding of new guitarist Rafael Salzmann and Kay Brem pummelling out some addictive rhythmic bass.

‘Virunus’ which is sure to get your neck in action, the flute leads this track in the most beautiful manner, as does the sophisticated beasting of the mighty Merlin Sutter, one of my favourite drummers. This track also has some heavy riffing that compliment the flute’s melody. There’s a pretty upbeat traditional Celtic segment that ends this song that’ll make you want to get up and dance! What I love about this track is also the fact that it ventures into the realms of melodeath with a background of fantastic instrumentation yet seems to exhibit an undeniable simplicity.

The enchanting melody that Eluveitie can rightfully claim as theirs continues with ‘The Call Of The Mountains’ and hurdy-gurdy’ist Anna Murphy has successfully left me awe-struck yet again with this track. Reminsicent of ‘A Rose For Epona’ on Helvetios and ‘Slania’s Song’ on Slania, Anna deserves every ounce of spotlight she gets because she is by far one of the best female vocalists I have ever heard, her voice on this track adopting a much softer tone, considering the strong vocalist that she is. Highlight? This woman can growl like she’s the Kraken being unleashed. Keep your ears tuned in during ‘Sucellos’, ‘King’ and ‘Inception’!

Then comes ‘King’, the first single released from the album and it is a BEAUTY. Probably my favourite on this album, this track is extraordinary and absolutely, filled with heavy death metal groove, courtesy of more blast beat action from Merlin Sutter. I swear if you can headbang and river dance to this at the same time, I’ll buy you lunch! It is absolutely killer! ‘Carry The Torch’ is ends origins on a brutal note, ‘Eternity’ being the ‘Epilogue’ of this album. The technicality of the tracks aside, being a die-hard fan, I need to add here that when listening to an Eluveitie album, in addition to the flurry of flute notes and melodic riffs, the band is telling a story, one that is historic, heartfelt and genuinely moving. According to main man Chrigel, Origins focuses on in-depth Celtic mythological tales which are strongly spiritual and mainly from Gaul. I’m a sucker for anything celtic and anything mythological and if there are other historian geeks out there like me, this is the musical version of a really good history book! At this point, I will also tell you lot to pay close attention to the lyrics. I won’t do the usual thing and quote because that would just ruin it I reckon, but it is something I do with every song I listen to, and more so, when those songs are by Eluveitie.

Having been a fan of Eluveitie from the release of ‘Slania’ I can quite honestly say that the awesomeness brought about by ‘Origins’ didn’t surprise me in the least given that they deliver 200% every time. With a musical ingenuity and creativity like no other band, they captivate fans with their passion for heritage and culture, merging the gorgeous history of Scandinavia with the eternal charm of traditional Celtic folk melodies and the fierce yet magnificent elegance melodic death metal. This album has elevated the Celtic metal band from Switzerland to new heights of metallic domination! DO NOT MISS THIS!

Band: Eluveitie
Album: Origins
Year: 2014
Genre: Folk metal
Label: Nuclear Blast
Origin: Switzerland

Tracklisting:
1. Origins
2. The Nameless
3. From Darkness
4. Celtos
5. Virunus
6. Nothing
7. The Call Of The Mountains
8. Sucellos
9. Inception
10. Vianna
11. The Silver Sister
12. King
13. The Day Of Strife
14. Ogmios
15. Carry The Torch
16. Eternity

 

About

Prarthana is a vegan, Indo-Aussie, heavy music addict, fluent in sarcasm and metal. Traveling is an obsession as she enjoys taking in the history of various countries and following her favorite bands. She's either eating, teaching grammar or learning an instrument, when not occupied with windmilling in the faces of other humans.