Eluveitie, a very unique folk band with gothenburg influences from Switzerland that knows how to make good music. till now they only got one studio album called spirit , but the second album slania will follow this december, which i am longing for.

their first album for me is a masterpiece with tracks like Of Fire, Wind & Wisdom; Uis Elveti and Your Gaulish War to which i can listen to all the time.

so what you think of this band? do you even know them?

Awesome band! I'm surprised to see that there hasn't been a thread for them already. I wouldn't really call them just influenced by the Gothenburg sound, but rather categorize them as both Gothenburg metal band and as folk metal band. In fact one could say they sound how Dark Tranquillity would sound if they were an eight-piece band and replaced the keys with fiddle, hurdy-gurdy, mandola, flutes, whistles, pipes, gaita, bodhrán, shawms and whatever else they have in their repertoire. Describing themselves as "New Wave of Folk Metal" is pretty pretentious in my opinion, but no one can deny that they are a breath of fresh air in pagan and folk metal. They are also a lot of fun to watch live and were the best band of this year's Ragnarök Festival by far (live report - though quite late - should be up by next week at latest).

I don't think naming any specific songs as standout songs would do their album any justice as every single song contributes to making "Spirit" the masterpiece it is. Naturally I'm also looking forward a lot to their new album. And I'm also looking forward to the Ultima Ratio festival to see them again - if I manage to make it there, that is.

Yeah, I like them, nothing special, but I like to hear a song or two from time to time.

I didn't know them but i liked a lot their musics Can you recommend me some good folk?

I like the mix a lot at first I thought folk AND gothenburg? No way!! But after a couple of listens, this actually sounds good
They do sound a bit like DT

I have Ven and Spirit and they are both awesome. only down side with the band is that the grunts some times go out of their tone and sound a bit emo, but luckly most of the time it's just good melodic grunts.

I was really looking forward to checking these guys out, and when I did, I was very unimpressed, Odroerir and Cuachan are much better. The vocals really turned me off.

i read this thread and immediately looked them up, i really like them too, very much like ensiferum

Written by Promonex on 26.09.2007 at 20:21

They are also a lot of fun to watch live and were the best band of this year's Ragnarök Festival by far (live report - though quite late - should be up by next week at latest).

If there's one thing I always fail at, it's gotta be keeping appointments...
Anyway, the live report is finally up by now, just in case you haven't seen it on the main page.

Hmm well I'm going to bring this thread back to life I had not heard of Eluveitie until their "Slania" release, so I really didn't know what to expect. And yes, I think my first impression is close to what some others say, that there is a Dark Tranquillity feel to them much of the time! I can't say which CD by the band I enjoy more, but I think the band has lots of potential to continue to add a new sound to the folk metal genre.

I enjoy the song "Slania's Song" and "Inis Mona" the most on the new CD, and can hear so many interesting things going on that the band seems just seconds away from developing into something masterful. The songs of course are catchy and they don't walk down the silly road that some folk bands lean toward, but hint at more serious tones at times. I didn't get a chance to see them on the US paganfest tour as I've put all my money aside for a trip to next month's Hellfest - so I will see them there. I hope they have as good a spirit live as they do on CD !

I watched the Inis Mona Video, and it's agreat song, i must get the disc.

Although i loved Spirit, Slania was a tad dissapointing. It still is good music, just not as mindblowing. Great band though, love the horns and hurdy-gurdy!

I don't know what I like better from the two releases, I actually loved Slania for the pure energy it conveyed but wasn't as impressed when I was introduced to pretty much the same sound on Spirit IMO. Very good band nonetheless, great, excellent use of folk instruments without making them sound like shitty synthesizer effects.

Inis Mona is an awesome song, but I'm still not sure, whether I should get their album... Are the other songs good too, or did they just get lucky with one song?

Written by Ernotar on 06.05.2008 at 15:36

Inis Mona is an awesome song, but I'm still not sure, whether I should get their album... Are the other songs good too, or did they just get lucky with one song?

It's awesome yea...and the others are great too. If you will get this album, you won't regret it. I am positive

Slania is the best album from this year I have listened to thus far. I would say there is more similarity between Eluveitie and old In Flames than with Dark Tranquillity; many songs such as Bloodstained Ground (the chorus with 2/4 Melodeath vocals combined with 3/8 Folk instruments is beyond awesome) or The Somber Lay remind me of the days In Flames had not yet started to suck. Slania is as fine as Whoracle, if not better.

@Ernotar: My favourite song from this album is Calling the Rain, the best Melodeath song I have heard in many months. A catchy chorus, pure energy as far as instrumentation and rhythm are concerned, and overall solid, like the rest of the album as well. I highly recommend this song.

Favourite songs: "Calling the Rain", "Inis Mona", "The Somber Lay".

Written by Ernotar on 06.05.2008 at 15:36

Inis Mona is an awesome song, but I'm still not sure, whether I should get their album... Are the other songs good too, or did they just get lucky with one song?

Yes, it's a great album The second track "Primordial Breath" is equally as good as "Inis Mona" to me, and "Calling The Rain" is great, as well as I really enjoy the slightly slower song "Slania's Song" which features female vocals more prominently (of course).

Inis Mona is alright imo. I prefer songs like The Somber Lay,Calling The Rain,Gray Sublime Archon and Primordial Breath over it.

I found out about this band not long ago. I first listened to Spirit and only then to Slania. People told me I'd like Slania better because it is heavier, more powerful, etc, etc. But turned out I still prefer Spirit.

I like the kind of sound they make, and to me they're just plain folk Metal. I was surprised to see the term Gothenburg applied to their influences... I thougth that was a whole different kind of sound (Arch Enemy is Gothenburg to me, for instance..) and I don't identify what they make with it, personally.
Then again, I can't say I'm a master about Gothenburg, I didn't even know there was such a 'label' until recently. :

I love Eluveitie. At the moment it's my favorite band. I can listen to their songs over and over and over.

I just got Slania and I love it! It sounds like a folk version of Dark Tranquillity. Incredible how these guys manage to blend Gothenburg with folk metal! At first, I thought it was going to be anOTHER Ensiferum, but I soon realized their sound was unique. An instant classic!

Written by owl on 12.05.2008 at 16:57

I found out about this band not long ago. I first listened to Spirit and only then to Slania. People told me I'd like Slania better because it is heavier, more powerful, etc, etc. But turned out I still prefer Spirit.

I like the kind of sound they make, and to me they're just plain folk Metal. I was surprised to see the term Gothenburg applied to their influences... I thougth that was a whole different kind of sound (Arch Enemy is Gothenburg to me, for instance..) and I don't identify what they make with it, personally.
Then again, I can't say I'm a master about Gothenburg, I didn't even know there was such a 'label' until recently. :

Arch Enemy isn't a reference in Gothenburg. If you wanna know what is Gothenburg Metal (also known as Melodic Death or Melodeath), listen to Dark Tranqillity, OLD In Flames (new stuff suck) and At The Gates. These are the Big Three of the subgenre. Eluveitie (I can't write that band's name by heart, always looking for it somewhere around me lol) sound a lot more like DT then In Flames and At The Gates. If DT hired a bagpipes player and a violinist, they'd be... hum... ha right, Eluveitie.

Eluveitie is awesome.
I love Gothenburg, my favorite genre, and in most cases, I actually would consider Arch Enemy in the category. ATG, DT and early In Flames are indeed the pioneers, but I really love new bands like Scar Symmetry, Mercenary, and Sonic Syndicate.
Eluveitie opens the doors to molding Folk Metal and Gothenburg into straight up Melodic Metal, ie Amon Amarth.

I discovered their work lately....the music itself is normal, indeed the Göteborg influence is there...For me they are bit like the Latvian Skyforger...and what's most interesting is their Etruscan name plus their lyrics in Gaulish....very bold decision to use antique topics and languages in the music....

Eluveitie are a great band. they are so unique. I am not a fan of Gothenburg metal but eluveitie are an acception. I like how they have folk in their music too. just makes them so different. When i first heard their album 'spirit' i wasnt quite sure about them but then i listened to them a few more times and i was like wow!

this band is fuckin awesome, I discovered them thx to Inis Mona video and so i got Slania...man this is what I call folk metal!

i love spirit but im pretty disappointed with slania it just sounds to similar to spirit imo nothing new on it
they could have done something more original not a copy of spirit!

btw i saw them live at metalcamp they ´ve played a great show

I only wait for them to start playing music with Etruscan lyrics and produce more Gaulish texts instead of English ones.....

Any word on those Folk albums they were going to release?

Eluveitie is definitly not a typical folk-metal band, which seemed to flood the scene during the last two or three years. typical folk-metal parts mixed with the gothenborg sound make their sound quite unique, espacially live this combination really rocks. imho they have still potential left, priamarily the vocal part.
but nontheless, i'm already looking forward to see them live again together with their new band members:)