Twenty years ago Switzerland saw the birth of a melodic folk/death metal band that has developed into a household name in the genre. A central part of the oeuvre of Eluveitie is their fascination with the history of the Helvetians, expressed lyrically through a combination of grunts/clean singing in English, Gaelic and Celtic. Traditional folk instruments such as the violin, the bodhrán, the tin whistle, bagpipes, the Celtic harp and the hurdy-gurdy make frequent contributions and they fit in wonderfully well with the inventive guitar lines and sometimes top-heavy rhythm section. On their most recent outing ‘Ategnatos’ (2019) the voice of new singer/harpist Fabienne Erni blends beautifully with that of founder Chrigel Glanzmann as the band outgrows the label of their pagan/folk/melodic death beginnings with their most mature CD yet. #GMM23
