Review : ELUVEITIE – “Everything Remains As It Never Was”

Eluveitie – Everything Remains As It Never Was
released in the US March 9, 2010 on Nuclear Blast Records

Rating : 4 / 5

The folk metal insurgency has exploded across Europe in the last twenty years. While many have hailed from around the UK and especially Scandanavia, Eluveitie carries the torch for Switzerland. Following the release of their near-fully acoustic 2009 album, Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion, the band returns to balance on Everything Remains As It Never Was. Though similar themes continue throughout this album, there is an Evocation II tentatively planned for 2011.

I must say, the anthematic emphasis on numbers like “Thousandfold” and “Lugdunon” seems to show crossover desire. The latter is more successful, featuring a rare guitar solo, as well as some Gaulish chants. The chants first appear in “The Essence Of The Ashes” (only in English) as they intone We strive not for war/We crave to have our home/We just seek to have our rights/That our fathers used to have. The band also has hurdy-gurdy player Anna Murphy occasionally sing, most prevalent in “Quoth The Raven”, where she finds her death growl for the first time.

As a unit, they radiate an aura of authenticity, if for no other reason than their steadfast adherence to traditional folk instruments (albeit amidst Gothenburg thrash). Nothing is synthesized, from the violin and hurdy-gurdy to a wide variety of flutes, pipes, and whistles; the band crafts songs with both depth and dynamism. Where so many similar bands feel forced, Eluveitie channels a naturally flowing energy into their powerful music.

1 is an instrumental intro, with spoken word lyrics
6, 10, 13 are (mostly acoustic) instrumentals

FCC: 7
Try 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11

01. Otherworld
02. Everything Remains As It Never Was
03. Thousandfold
04. Nil
05. The Essence Of Ashes
06. Isara
07. Kingdom Come Undone
08. Quoth The Raven
09. (Do)Minion
10. Setlon
11. Sempiternal Embers
12. Lugdunon
13. The Liminal Passage