The Swiss Eluveitie from 2003 that they were formed, have helped a lot the folk metal genre progress and grow. Their first album was great and the band continued to evolve and become even better as time passed.
In the beginning of 2012 the band released their first full concept album. I emphasize the word “full”, because the band might have had a specific theme in their discography, but “Helvetios” is the first album that tells a specific story from song one to song… seventeen!! The album tells the story of the Gaulish War from the Gauls’ point of view.
The full concept thing is one of the new things the band is trying with “Helvetios”. Musically there is nothing more from their previous albums. For new listeners, Eluveitie is not just a folk metal band; they draw many things from the Swedish melodic death genre and combine it with folk instruments like violins, bagpipes and whistles.
Generally speaking the album leaves some good impressions with straightforward songs like “Meet the Enemy” and “Helvetios”, more folk like melodies with songs like “Scorched Earth” and even pop sounding songs like “A Rose For Epona”(in which singer Anna Murphy sounds captivating).
If you are new to this band “Helvetios” is a good start. It has all the elements that made the band special in the first place. The problem is that the compositions themselves can’t keep you on your toes as their previous releases did.
Eluveitie doesn’t break any new musical ground on this album. They just do what they can do really good and this time with a concept album.
