Festival Of Pagans

Coming up in a few weeks is Pagan Fest 2008 tour which I'll be attending and to get ready for it I thought I'd look at a couple of the bands that are on this tour. Today I'll be looking at Eluveitie a Helvetian Celtic metal. Feel free to check out my review of Eluveitie's debut EP "Ven" here.

Eluveitie's full length debut "Spirit" continues with the Celtic heavy style of folk metal though not as chaotic as on "Ven". "Spirit" feels more organized (not saying "Ven"s chaos was bad) This seems more polished. The sound here mixes Waylander's flute-ish melodies and Elvenking's violin rhythms and add Asmegin's brutality and you might get some idea here.

The album opens with the title track "Spirit" whose traditional instruments set the mood and style before the guitars and such kick in with the metal. Nature sounds carry through this album like on "Ven" and adds some authenticity.

"Aidu" is a traditional sounding tune that's almost atmospheric in its subtlety, whereas "Siraxta" catchy folk groove opens the song for a good minute and a half before the band rocks out with some crunchy riffs. This song blends traditional melodies and metal ferociousness wonderfully. This is my favourite song here. The song takes Celtic music and then adds black metal intensity to it.

"The Gaulish War" leans more towards the metal end without forgetting its folk core, just more brutal. "Of Fire, Wind And Wisdom" takes the folk roots and pummels them with crushing brutality. The same with "The Song Of Life" which blasts into you with blast beats galore and ripping riffs.

"Tegernako" and "The Endless Knot" balance out the folk elements and metal more evenly and is reminiscent of Moonsorrow or even Ragnorok (UK), just not nearly as epic. "The Dance Of Victory" and "AnDro" have a more traditional blend of folk elements in the metal more in line with Waylander and Elvenking though with a Viking style of metal riffing.

Overall, I find Eluveitie to be top of their game in the Celtic metal genre. They don't split the metal and folk like Ragnarok (UK) does and they aren't as brutal as say Asmegin, but rather fall more in line with Waylander with more viking metal tendencies in their riffs and chorus's.

I am looking forward to Paganfest big time and I have a feeling Eluveitie will be a memorable experience. I have yet to purchase the bands new album "Slania". I've been denying myself until the show where I'll grab it and review shortly after.

Up next I'll take a look Turisas's "Battle Metal" album.