ELUVEITIE are no secret within the world of folk metal these days. As such we felt as though it would be prudent to take a step back in time to listen to the original “Evocation” album, “The Arcane Dominion” – also known as the band’s first acoustic release – to see how it feels a whopping 10 years after its release (has it really been that long?). As Evocation I was ELUVEITIE‘s first fully acoustic album, it therefore marked a fairly sizable step away from their usual sound.
“The Arcane Dominion” is an impressive 15-track album, but while that may seem like a lot, in actuality, only five of those clock in at over 4 minutes in length. Rather than having a focus on heaviness or guitars and bass, the album focuses more on creating a certain ambience and feels very Celtic and forest-like. It opens with a droning hurdy-gurdy intro with soft spoken words performed by A.A. Nemtheanga [PRIMORDIAL], which are also the only English language lyrics on the album. It then opens into the bright and catchy “Brictom” – a solid start to the album with a very Celtic feel that features Anna Murphy on lead vocals with Chrigel Glanzmann‘s growls as an added emphasis in the chorus. “A Girl’s Oath” again stars Murphy on vocals, speaking her Gaulish parts softly.
The partial title track, “The Arcane Dominion,” starts with a solid growl from Glanzmann and is perhaps one of the heavier-sounding songs on the album, though it still remains entirely acoustic and mystical in ambience; this song also features guest Oli S. Tyr on the long-necked lute. “Within the Grove” and “The Cauldron of Renascence” are both instrumentals. The former is a very flute-centric song, with soft shamanistic drums in the back and a level hurdy-gurdy drone, featuring Fredy Schnyder on hammered dulcimer and Mina the Fiddler on 5-stringed viola. The latter picks up the energy into a livelier pace with a blending of many instruments and some backing growls.
“Nata” sees the return of Nemtheanga on additional vocals, which are sang mostly over a hurdy-gurdy drone, and this track opens with some bagpipes (either Scottish or Uilleann, I’m not sure). More instruments join in after a long break toward the end, giving the song a nice overall feel. “Omnos” returns to the earlier feel of “Brictom” with its pleasant peppy energy, excellent blend of instruments, mixed with Murphy‘s lovely vocals.
“Carnutian Forest” has very little in the way of words, but focuses a lot on flutes/whistles; I love the way it progresses, starting slowly and picking up. The violin shines through on this track a bit more as well, as it can sometimes be hard to separate from the hurdy-gurdy. “Dessumiis Luge” is a rather eerie and almost creepy song, with its whispers and the layering of vocals. Like “Carnutian Forest,” the song picks up, though does not lose its eerie quality, almost invoking the feelings of a ritual of some sort through movement and feeling. The female scream at the end is quite brutal.
“Gobanno” is so far unique in its emphasis on guitar in the beginning. Along with featuring Schnyder and Fiddler again, it also has Sarah Wauquiez on zugerörgeli, which appears to be some type of accordion. This track has a bit of a different vibe from the others, but it’s hard to explain the difference. It does highlight the different feelings on this album though and helps the concept feel more expansive than one might originally notice. In the same vein, “Voveso in Mori” also has an entirely new atmosphere, lacking the hurdy-gurdy drone that is in most songs and focusing more on more known instruments like guitar.
“Memento” is the last upbeat instrumental, focusing again on more “regular” instruments, and “Ne Regv Na” is a gentle, dynamic whistle/flute-oriented track that starts to wind things down. The hurdy-gurdy brings things full circle again with “Sacrapos – The Disparaging Last Gaze.” This is a very simple yet effective instrumental and continuing from “Ne Regv Na,” slows the album down perfectly to its close.
This is a very atmospheric and mystical album, almost better listened to as a whole concept rather than individual tracks, as some of the simpler songs like “Nata” and “Dessumiis Luge” don’t work well on their own. However, the general feeling of the album is excellent across the board and the blending of all the instruments is fantastic. I have no complaints about the vocals either, as they sound great no matter what. I applaud their continued use of traditional music and the dead Gaulish language in their concepts. Overall, I think this is an excellent album and it set the bar quite high for its followup!
Written by Bear Wiseman
Musicalypse, 2019
OV: 2760
Tracklist
- Sacrapos – At First Glance
- Brictom
- A Girl’s Oath
- The Arcane Dominion
- Within the Grove
- The Cauldron of Renascence
- Nata
- Omnos
- Carnutian Forest
- Dessumiis Luge
- Gobanno
- Voveso in Mori
- Memento
- Ne Regv Na
- Sacrapos – The Disparaging Last Gaze
Lineup
Chrigel Glanzmann – vocals, tin & low whistles, mandola, mandolin, Uilleann pipes, bodhran
Anna Murphy – vocals, hurdy-gurdy
Ivo Henzi – acoustic guitar
Päde Kistler – tin & low whistles, Scottish highland pipe, redpipe
Meri Tadic – violin
Kay Brem – acoustic & fretless bass
Sime Kock – acoustic guitar
Merlin Sutter – drums, percussion
Label
Nuclear Blast Records
Links
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[…] The time has come! ELUVEITIE had what seemed to be a rather rough division in members last year, resulting in the formation of CELLAR DARLING and in ELUVEITIE revealing a vast new line-up. Not only have fans been waiting to hear what this new mix would sound like, but “Evocation II” has been a long time in the making, with ELUVEITIE having released a whopping three albums since its predecessor in 2009, “Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion.” […]