I will be the first to admit that I have been slacking very hard in keeping up with the music that ELUVEITIE puts out. I remember the first time I heard “Inis Mona” from the album Slania and it opened my mind to a whole new world of metal that was just waiting to be explored. ELUVEITIE was one of the first bands to introduce me to the folk metal scene. Mind you, Slania was released in 2008 and with Origins (August 5, Nuclear Blast Records), I think that they not only stayed true to their sound, but they keep producing consistently good music.
I always liked folk metal because of the wide range of instruments and vocal styles that are displayed on record as well as their live performances. The instruments that you normally wouldn’t find in other metal bands are prevalent here on Origins:the mandola, the gaita, the bodhrán, the harp, an instrument called the “hurdy gurdy,” bagpipes (which is awesome,) and the violin. All of these things make ELUVEITIE a standout band already, but the fact that their sound remains progressive and heavy is remarkable. For example, just listen to the first track off of Origins called “The Nameless.” That song mixes these instruments along with those that you would usually hear, like guitar, drums, bass, but with the strong, full vocals from Chrigel Glanzmann accompanied by the singing from Anna Murphy. The vocals compliment the sound that ELUVEITIE produce so well.
After listening to this record, it is easiest to say that Origins was produced, mix, and mastered to tell a story, kind of like how an audio book would be, but with music and it won’t put you to sleep. Also, you’ll want to listen to it again, which I never once did with an audio book because I am a normal person who likes to read. With that being said, the transitional tracks are usually something that I wouldn’t like on a record, but they segue exceptionally well with the songs that follow, like “Origins” into “The Nameless” or “Nothing” into “The Call Of The Mountains.” I really became a big fan of that song in particular. There are just a few that weren’t quite as strong to me on this record, but if you already liked ELUVEITIE before, you should by no means sleep on this record. Take it from me and when you have the opportunity, listen to the story and music that is being told throughout.
While the transitional tracks were there to compliment some solid songs there were a couple that got caught up in the whole “this track sounds like the last track” ideology that takes away from how good an album really is. For example “From Darkness” was a song that kind of blended in with “The Nameless” to the point where I listened and was waiting for more of a variance in sound, but never really found it. Also, another track like that was “Vianna” later on. Not that these were bad songs, because that would be far from the truth. To me, they just seemed to be simply lost in the shuffle of the songs that really made me want to go back and take note of the title of the track that I was listening to.
ELUVEITIE just released the video for “The Call of the Mountains” which you can see HERE.
STANDOUT TRACKS: “Origins/The Nameless”, “Celtos”, “Nothing/The Call Of The Mountains”, “Sucellos” “The Silver Sister”, “Ogmios/Carry The Torch”
RATING: 8.1/10
WRITTEN BY MR. REESE
