CD Info
2012
Nuclear Blast Records
17  Tracks
English & Gaulish Lyrics

I’m not sure whether Eluveitie count as female-fronted or not, but Robin Stryker assured me that it’s perfectly fine to write a review of this release for Sonic Cathedral, so here we go. Eluveitie is a melodic death folk metal band hailing from Switzerland whose image and musical concept revolve around ancient Gaul, specifically a tribe known as the Helvetii (the Etruscan word for which is, you guessed it, eluveitie). For those of you who aren’t very much into history, Gaul was the ancient Roman name for modern-day France and was inhabited by what the Romans would have referred to as barbarians before it was conquered by none other than Julius Caesar. Honestly, I have a lot of trouble deciding who is more badass, the Gauls or the Romans, but Eluveitie is doing a pretty good job of convincing me the former is a bit more metal.

Eluveitie is usually fronted by the pretty damn good screamer and multi-talented instrumentalist Chrigel Glanzmann, but the reason they qualify to be reviewed for this webzine are the duo of Anna Murphy and Meri Tadic, who provide the female vocals on many a song in addition to their other instrumental duties (the hurdy-gurdy and the violin respectively). These guys are backed up by Merlin Sutter on drums, Simeon Koch and Ivo Henzi on guitar, Kay Brem on the bass, and Patrick Kistler on the bagpipes. Helvetios is the band’s 5th full-length album and is, almost surprisingly, their first ever concept album. The record tells the story of the Helvetii people from around 60 BC to the last great revolt against the Romans in Gaul about ten years later. Because this is a concept album, it might be easier to do this as a song-by-song review. Have you ever read a CD review and had a history lesson at the same time? Well, there’s a first time for everything, I suppose.

Helvetios begins with a spoken intro. In it, an old man reminisces about his life among the Helvetii. It does a good job of setting the tone for the album and introducing the concept. This leads right into the title track, a sort of Helvetii-pride song where the folk elements come in as strong as Chrigel’s screams and the metal riffs underneath them. There are even some backing choir parts, something I’ve never heard Eluveitie utilize before, which give this song quite an epic feel. This is sure to be a live hit, full of energy and a number of good headbanging moments as well.

Without a break, the band dives into the next song, "Luxtos," which describes the beginnings of the Helvetii tribe. In true Eluveitie fashion, Chrigel and Anna actually sing the chorus to this song in ancient Gaulish, which I just find infinitely cool. Overall, it’s an extremely fun song, definitely one of the highlights of the album. The thing I’ve found about Eluveitie, however, is that they’re actually much better at folk than they are at metal, so the songs that are more folky are usually the better ones. In all honesty, the metal parts of every song kind of sound the same. It’s the folk parts that keep it really interesting, but sometimes they’re also just not that memorable. Thus, there are a good number of songs among Eluveitie’s discography that all blend together and which I can’t really tell apart from each other. They’re not bad, but they just don’t stand out and all sound kind of similar. Let me describe one for you: it starts with a folky intro of some sort, then followed by a folk-less, average sounding verse. The folk comes back for the chorus, which sounds pretty similar to the verse, just folky. After a second round of the above, there’s a not-very-memorable bridge, and then the chorus again. "Home," which describes the Roman incursions into Gaul, fits this formula to a T, and in all honesty, there’s nothing that sets this song apart from the rest of the great pile of sameness. Again, it’s not bad, it’s just not memorable.

The next song, "Santonian Shores," tells the story of the Helvetii migration, when the entire tribe uprooted themselves and decided to head for the Santones on the Atlantic coast of France. Though this song is slightly more interesting than the previous one, it also falls into the pile. This is followed by the acoustic interlude "Scorched Earth," which is also sung in Gaulish, but this time with clean male vocals. It’s a very atmospheric track that (probably) continues the description of the migration, as the Helvetii burned their homes and farms upon leaving their homeland. It certainly fits the mood of the album well, and is a pleasant break from the much heavier songs surrounding it.

The album delves right into "Meet the Enemy," which describes the first major battle with the Romans on the river Saone. This song more than makes up for the two that fell into the pile with its upbeat folky elements and battle-ready atmosphere. Even Anna does a pretty epic scream on this track. No doubt this will be another popular live song, and definitely another big highlight of this album. This is followed by "Neverland," which describes the aftermath of a second battle with the Romans at Bribacte, which the Helvetii also lost. After this battle, the Helvetii surrendered to the Romans and returned home. This song is similar to "Meet the Enemy," but a bit more folky with a catchier chorus. Meri’s epic violin solo in the bridge is also a good touch.

"A Rose for Epona" was the band’s first single off of this album and is fairy unique for a (metal) Eluveitie song because it’s almost entirely sung by Anna. She has a fantastically unique voice, and it’s at this point I begin to wonder why they don’t utilize her more often. From what I’ve heard, songs featuring Anna tend to be the better Eluveitie songs, and this is honestly one of the best in their repertoire. Anna definitely gives it her all here, and there’s certainly a lot of emotion put into this song.

Going back to the band’s heavier side, we have "Havoc," which describes further violence by the Romans towards the Helvetii. Full of anger, Chrigel lets out the rage in some epic screams while Meri shows us just how much of a beast she is on the violin, fiddling away like there’s no tomorrow. This song is certainly another highlight of the album.

"The Uprising" tells the story of how the Helvetii joined a number of other tribes in Gaul, led by Vercingetorix, in a rebellion against Rome. As epic as the subject matter is, and as epic the monologue in the middle of song may be, it’s unfortunately another song for the pile.

Eluveitie usually has at least one acoustic instrumental interlude per album, and these, like some of their more metal counterparts, kind of sound pretty much the same. "Hope" is no exception and, as it’s awkwardly stuck between two much heavier tracks, is doomed to be a frequent victim of the skip button.

"The Siege" is the heaviest song on the album. Here, Chrigel is joined in his screams by a second screamer, who I have a sneaking suspicion is actually Anna. If that’s true, then I am more than impressed, and it certainly proves that there simply needs to be more Anna. Everywhere. The metal and folk elements in this song are some of the strongest on the album, and together make this another outstanding track.

I know I’ve called some of the above tracks the best songs on this album already, but really, that title goes to "Alesia." To no-one’s surprise, the song heavily features the lovely Anna on vocals, and the verses she sings are absolutely beautiful. She’s at her most emotional here, and the juxtaposition with Chrigel’s angry screams here make for a powerful combination. It might actually be my new favorite Eluveitie song. This song and "The Seige" describe the battle of Alesia, where Vercingetorix’s rebellion was essentially crushed and Vercigentorix himself was captured. This is commonly thought of as the end of the rebellion, though there was one last fight at the stronghold of Uxellodunon, described in a song of the same name. Unfortunately, this song also finds its way into the pile, which is a shame. You’d think the album should end in a bang, but this last full song is a bit of a disappointment, especially following such fantastic tracks. The album ends with an epilogue, spoken by the same man who spoke the prologue, which sums up the album’s concept.

Despite the four songs that fall into the pile, Helvetios is definitely Eluveitie’s best metal album to date. I specify metal album because their acoustic project, Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion remains my favorite of their releases. Whether it’s sad that my favorite album of a metal band is their acoustic one I’ll leave to your judgement, but as far as the metal goes, these guys and girls are still damn good and most certainly stand out as one of the top bands in the folk metal genre. My one suggestion is, of course, more Anna! Not only does she add a bit more variety to the band’s sound, but she’s obviously extremely talented and can add a lot more to the music, maybe even saving some pile-bound tracks from being totally overlooked. And, of course, the band will no doubt convert legions of female-fronted metal bands to their cause, if they haven’t already! Old fans will definitely love this release, but Helvetios is certainly an album to look into even if you’re new to the band or folk metal in general.

Standout tracks: "Helvetios" "Luxtos" "Meet the Enemy" "A Rose for Epona" "Havoc" "The Seige" and "Alesia."

8 /10

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