Eluveitie (pronounced “El-veiti”) is one of those Swiss bands that are quietly making their rounds around the globe and have hardly been noticed in this country. Rightly so, interest is now finally taking shape in the home country and Eluveitie is breaking away from insider tip status. This was the second time this year that I had the pleasure of seeing the eight-piece and celebrating their self-proclaimed “New Wave Of Folk Metal”. Eluveitie are clearly part of the rapidly growing Pagan Metal scene, but they bring a bit of a breath of fresh air into it.
If I'm honest, a few months ago I would have shaken my head if someone had asked me if I wanted to go to an Eluveitie concert. But “everything remains as it never was”. Eluveitie is a Swiss pagan metal band from Winterthur, whose members originally come from all parts of the country. The band combines Celtic folklore with death or black metal in their music. The band's lyrics are based on the history, daily life and spirituality of the Celtic Helvetii tribe and are partly written in a reconstructed form of Helvetic Gaulish. Even the name of the band comes from this language and means something like: “I, the Helvetian”.
But first things first, Pertness appear as the opening act, who have been rocking since 1992 and are melting the last glaciers in the Bernese Oberland with straight, melodic heavy metal. The band is characterized not only by sing-along vocal lines and precise riffs, but also by impressive guitar themes and cemented rhythm work and are absolutely convincing live. Excelsis have always gone their own way. They have been playing their metal since 1997, enriching it with non-rock instruments such as the Alphorn, Bäsechlopfe or Dachchänneli to create “Helvetic Folk Power Metal”. The Bernese metallers stood out with their fat riffs, varied structures and an atmospheric mood, but to be honest, they're not my cup of tea.
At around 21.30:XNUMX p.m., the eight members of Eluveitie took the stage. Significantly, the opener “Otherworld” takes the audience straight into a different world of their own, the world of myths and secrets, full of pathos and archaic melodies, before things really get going with “Nil”. Yes, Eluveitie don't disappoint their fans because they do what is expected of them: rock, groove, dance, jump, sound, dream, let go. The audience went along with the music and tried to sing along to the Celtic lyrics as best they could. Not always easy...but with a smile on your face and the melody in your heart, it sounded pretty good in the middle of the crowd, at least for me.
Eluveitie put on a brilliant show and what you as a viewer made of it was up to you. In any case, I can recommend Eluveitie live to everyone, even those who are perhaps not necessarily fans of the band, but can listen to the music, because with this band you get a feast that you can only get from a few other bands. Although everything changes, somehow everything stays the same: Eluveitie are clearly the spearhead of the style of melodic death metal with Celtic melodies, because there is simply nothing better, more professional or more creative. The fact that this may be too commercial for many is simply because the music is great and appeals to many people. “Everything stays the same as it never was” – this band has something huge going on…
The setlist:
- Other World
- Nil
- Bloodstained Ground
- Gray Sublime Archon
- Your Gaulish War
- Thousandfold
- Inis Mona
- Slania's song
- Brictom
- Omnos
- Quoth the Raven
- The Song of Life
- Kingdom Come Undone
- (Thu) Minion
- Andro
- Primordial Breath
- Uis Elveti
- Tegernako
Encore:
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