- Home
- Welcome
- Community Blog
- JJ's Bizarre Blog #54 - Furor Helvetios
Help Wizard
Step 1
Type in your question below and we'll check to see what answers we can find...
Loading article...
Submitting...
If you couldn't find any answers in the previous step then we need to post your question in the community and wait for someone to respond. You'll be notified when that happens.
Simply add some detail to your question and refine the title if needed, choose the relevant category, then post.
Just quickly...
Before we can post your question we need you to quickly make an account (or sign in if you already have one).
Don't worry - it's quick and painless! Just click below, and once you're logged in we'll bring you right back here and post your question. We'll remember what you've already typed in so you won't have to do it again.
FAQs
Please see below the most popular frequently asked questions.
Loading article...
Loading faqs...
Ongoing Issues
Please see below the current ongoing issues which are under investigation.
Loading issue...
Loading ongoing issues...
Help categories
Account & Payment
Using Spotify
Listen Everywhere
JJ's Bizarre Blog #54 - Furor Helvetios
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Greetings everyone! Welcome once again to the den of the Bizarre One! Hope you liked the grand adventure from last time! Now, let's dial it back and explore something closer, more intimate. We're still on the cusp on summer truly breaking loose, so everything is very nice, green and vibrant. In light of that, let me take you on a grand trip through nature and history! Among all cultures of the world, one of the most influential, popular yet also underrated are the Celts. They aren't as flashy as the Vikings or the Goths, but their presence stretches far and wide, from Portugal to Romania, from Rome to Iceland, almost every corner of Europe has been touched by their culture and their mark is ever present. So to explore that, let's go right down to the center of Europe and the lovely mountain wonderland of Switzerland as I introduce you to one of the most influential folk metal phenomenons of all time. Let's dive into the most Swiss band to ever exist, the mighty Celtic warband Eluveitie!
Our story begins with the bold multi-instrumentalist Christian "Chrigel" Glanzmann who after several failed attempts, finally formed a band and christened it Eluveitie. The name derives from an ancient Etruscan inscription - "eluveitie/elvetios" - which refers to the ancient Celtic tribe the Helvetians who occupied the lands of modern day Switzerland from the 1st century BC. Helvetian has since come to literally mean "The Swiss" and even the CH country code they use stands for "Confoederatio Helvetica". And yes, the helvetica font comes from this too. So this is why you can say Eluveitie are the most Swiss band ever! In the beginning, it was just Glanzmann working with a rotating cast of session musicians, none of which had any permanent membership in the band, he himself contributing his trademark growls as well as a plethora of miscellaneous instruments. However, he knew that he had something special on his hands and it couldn't remain just some random passion project. Conquest was in order! So, he gathered a troupe of a whopping nine other people across various traditional and modern instruments to form Eluveitie for real. Their core sound features a lot of elements of Celtic folk music like flutes, lutes, fiddles, hurdy gurdy, Uilleann pipes and more to create that authentic sound, but then putting that on the solid foundation of some mighty melodic death metal that was just popping off at the time all across Europe! The result was an explosive concoction that was immersive and true to the real deal, yet so catchy and approachable that many people, even ones that never showed interest in folk music, gave it a try and fell in love instantly. Thus begins the tale of how, just like the Celts they emulate, Eluveitie spread their influence the world over!
They would make their first true mark with their EP Vên in 2004. This six track banger also showcased the first example of another staple aspect of the band - a good chunk of the lyrics were in reconstructed Gaulish, the dead language of the Celts! This is the kind of dedication to the craft that puts many metal bands a cut above any other music. The title of the EP itself means "wild joy" and that's definitely what you can feel listening to it! Taking inspiration from folk metal pioneers like Korpiklaani, Ensiferum, Finntroll and of course Cruachan (cuz you know, Celtic) and adding their own spin, this EP already shows a ton of promise. Compared to their later works, it's much more authentic and folk-driven, striving to create an enveloping and rich atmosphere of ancient times long gone. It's really engaging and worth a listen to this day!
This approach would be expanded in their debut studio album Spirit in 2006. Likewise more folky than what comes after, very immersive and potent, this album shows how these Celtic warriors came out swinging and were ready to plunder! Core members like guitarist Ivo Henzi and drummer Merlin Sutter first appeared on this record and helped carve the trademark sound of the metal portion of Eluveitie's music. Even among the established names of folk metal at the time, they stood out immediately. The way they make these old folk melodies so catchy and memorable is truly phenomenal!
The band would truly become a force to be reckoned with when they dropped their next opus - the unforgettable Slania in 2008. The core folk melodies were as strong as ever, but this is when the metal part really came together. Taking elements from melodic death metal and even the metalcore scene that was all the rage at the time, the band supplemented their wacky folk instruments with rock solid riffs, fast energetic rhythms, infectious dual guitar melodies and a fine blend between heaviness and softness. The final ingredient that really helped it all come together would be the angelic voice of one Anna Murphy. She's half Swiss, half Irish, she plays the hurdy gurdy, which the band already used prior and has a gorgeous soaring voice that is an instantly recognizable cure for the heart and the soul. You literally couldn't have come up with a more perfect member for a band like this! With this epic and bombastic record producing several popular hits, it truly put Eluveitie on the map and they remain a powerhouse of European metal to this very day!
To follow up such a massive success, they...did something unexpected. An experimental record starkly different from their core sound. A year after the thunderous Slania, the band dropped Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion. An entirely acoustic folk record without any hint of metal in it! Featuring the most diverse and rich folk instrumentation to date as well as lyrics entirely in Gaulish retelling epic tales from Celtic folklore, this album is an experience like no other and its ability to transport you to this ancient time is unparalleled. Some fans appreciated this deviation, others didn't, but the band showed that they were passionate about the preservation and proliferation of Celtic culture and were just some random metal band using a gimmick to stand out. Their commitment is commendable - learning all of these rare instruments, working with some of the only masters of this type of music in existence and forging the most authentic lyrics possible in a long dead tongue. Plus the melodies featured are just as catchy and infectious as they always are, just without any guitar riffs or breakdowns. It's a one-of-a-kind magical experience that deserves to be felt.
Bringing things back on the familiar trek, Eluveitie came back in force with 2010s Everything Remains as It Never Was. This is a potent record that fully showcases what this awesome band is capable of! They've got riffs and breakdowns to match the best that mid 2000s metalcore and melodeath could offer. At the same time, they have rich and enveloping folk melodies worthy of any historical reconstruction. Chrigel and Anna Murphy present a very unique and powerful mix of meaty heaviness and ethereal beauty. And their songs are melodic, catchy and instantly memorable. I really hope that somebody much more physically gifted that I can create a mix of traditional Irish stepdance and moshing, because that's what I wanna do while listening to this!
With growing popularity, so too did their ambitions grow, which lead to the grand opus called Helvetios in 2012. It must've been a special record for them to essentially name it after themselves and it definitely shows that the band brought out everything they have on this one. It's much longer than previous records and is a concept album retelling the story of the Gallic Wars from 58 till 50 BC from the perspective of the Celtic peoples as they faced off against the Roman Empire. It's grand, epic, rich and damn near cinematic at times. The tracks flow as one titanic experience, befitting of a concept album, and yet each track still manages to be individually memorable. Songs vary from heavy to soft, headbanging to heart soothing. Anna gets several songs all to herself, showcasing some soaring singing that will make Mariah Carrey or Whitney Houston blush. On all fronts, Eluveitie brought out the big guns and really showcased what they can do with unrestricted creativity. Not to mention that they were able to celebrate their passion for history, culture and folklore in the most direct way possible. A worthy record to bear their namesake!
After such a banger, the band weren't content with just sitting by, they pushed onward and conquered farther and farther! By this time, they had become an institution across metal and one of the biggest names in the folk metal sphere, so expectations were quite high. Thankfully, they delivered on all fronts with Origins in 2014. This record feels like a celebration of everything the band had built up to this point and the purest demonstration of everything that makes them great. Some absolutely killer riffs and guitar melodies, the strong worship of classic melodic death metal as obvious as ever. An entire choir of traditional instruments give each song that ancient, magical sound that feels so close to nature and culture. Chrigel's animalistic growls and Anna's soaring lines add a perfect contrast to any track. Eluveite after all are among the pioneers of the now popular "beauty and the beast" vocal style, so it only makes sense that they are likewise among the best at it! Each song just has that iconic Eluveitie sound that is instantly recognizable and oh so catchy, so unsurprisingly this album spawned some of the band's most popular tracks. I mean, what other band can have a metalcore breakdown punctuated by violin and tin whistle solos? How could you not want more of that?
The Celts, mighty as their civilization was, eventually fell so unfortunately Eluveite were likewise due a setback after so many years of success. This would come in the form of significant band disagreements, which lead to Anna Murphy, guitarist Ivo Henzi and drummer Merlin Sutter leaving the band all at once. This left many fans worried, how could Eluveitie continue without these people that have been there for so long and were so fundamental to their trademark sound? Well, it was clear the warband needed some respite, so to aid in the healing and introspection, Chrigel Glanzmann regrouped, found new comrades to fall back on and Eluveite released Evocation II - Pantheon in 2017. As you might have guessed, this is their second entirely acoustic folk album. It definitely distracted from the crisis at hand, because damn is this album enchanting! With all the years of experience, it was even richer and more authentic than the first and is unmatched when it comes to transporting you back to an ancient time, to realms of Celtic myth and legend. It really shows how powerful and immersive Eluveitie could be when they pulled back their metal elements and embraced this archaic heritage. Come whatever may, it was clear. The magic was still there!
After weathering the storm, the Swiss superpower were ready to come back in stride and boy did they! With 2019's Ategnatos, they proved that they still had it! The title means "rebirth" in Gaulish and it's not hard to see why it was chosen. After five whole years since their last proper metal album and after the unfortunate split of core members, the pressure was on to see if they can still deliver. It was clear the band knew this, because they brought everything they have! It's their longest record to date, even longer than Helvetios! The riffs are rock solid, heavy, meaty and powerful. The melodies are infectious and enchanting. The layers upon layers of folk instrumentation create incredible richness of sound. New female singer Fabienne Erni, who joined on Pantheon, really got to show her chops this time around and while the shoes she had to fill sat rather loose, she did a damn fine job and carried many of the tracks with confidence! The songs themselves are varied, going from heavy, dark and brooding to danceable and uplifting. Moshpit anthems, singalong choruses, mystical folk shanties and emotional ballads, there is a little bit of everything. But all of them are catchy and always carry the signature Eluveitie sound! It was clear, the boys and girls were back and everything was going to be alright! This album is a dramatic catharsis for all of us and after experiencing it, both the band and we the fans were renewed and refreshed, ready to conquer forth once more!
Now that we got things back on track, Eluveitie weren't just going to sit on their laurels. After some intense touring, they struck again and released their latest album Ànv just last month! This record builds on everything the band represents and features all of the good stuff we know and love! But still, after all these years, they continue to evolve and grow. From the get go, this album is noticeably heavier than anything they've put out thus far, with the guitars being tuned lower and the rhythms being just that bit faster and more aggressive with even some blast beats making an appearance, something uncommon for the band. Despite that, there is no shortage of epic melodies to sink your teeth into and the album even features the exceptional rarity that is an Eluveitie ballad! The folk melodies are just as rich and magical as ever and the whole record feels like an esoteric pagan ritual to deities long forgotten, a recollection of archaic tales that have echoed throughout the centuries. Ànv feels very familiar and close to home for established fans like myself, but nonetheless feels fresh and new in all the best ways! It gets heavier than ever, while also striking a good balance between the darkness and the light. This reborn incarnation of the band feel very comfortable with each other and were pushing onwards with pride and determination!
Thus Eluveitie have reclaimed their dominion and remain a powerhouse of metal to this day! They tour constantly, selling out shows all over the world, they collaborate with various artists and explore all kinds of new ideas while building on the iconic sound we all know and love. Fun fact, Chrigel Glanzmann is also a prolific session musician, being that he's one of the only metal guys that can play a lot of these obscure folk instruments, which is why many bands hire him to contribute them to their own records. For example, he played many of the wind and string instruments on the latest Amorphis albums!
In these band blogs, I always like to shoutout related side projects and here we have one of the most important ones. For you see, after Anna Murphy, Ivo Henzi and Merlin Sutter left the band in 2014, they decided to build on their longstanding friendships and make their own new band to explore their own passion for music! This new trio would be christened Cellar Darling in 2016, named after an earlier solo album from Anna. They retained many of the same tenets they explored in Eluveitie, mixing rock and metal with traditional folk music, with Anna of course bringing along her trademark hurdy gurdy. Their sound though is much softer than their former band, venturing more into progressive rock for a diverse and mystical sound! Catchy, introspective, emotive and powerful, with excellent guitar riffs, soaring folk melodies and Anna's gorgeous singing to boot, their music really is an experience to behold! I'd expect nothing less from these three. So far, they've got two records under their belts - This is the Sound in 2017 and The Spell in 2019. Don't sleep on this enchanting beauty!
So there you have it, the entire grand tale of Eluveitie thus far! If you know me, you know that I absolutely love folk metal and this band is one of the major culprits of that fact. I've been listening to them for over 15 years now and I've been fortunate enough to experience both them and Cellar Darling live. The way they've blended some really potent metal with these bountiful folk motifs is just really fascinating. I know I'm not alone in this feeling. Their mighty riffs and catchy hooks captivated many from the melodeath/metalcore crowd of the 2000s/2010s and got them to listen to something they never otherwise would have. They educated us on the richness of Celtic folklore, history and mythology and I'm pretty sure a lot of us first heard of many of these folk instruments from them. Most wonderful of all, they managed to be a massive success and inspire generations of both folk and metal musicians after them, while staying true to their own uniqueness and weirdness. That's something I can respect. Hope this Celtic magic has got you in its grasp now too. Cheers, take care and see you again soon!
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Mark as New
- Mark as Read
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Printer Friendly Page
- Report Inappropriate Content