A Review of Helvetios

In older times, a war was waged against the Gaulish tribes by the Roman empire. The Gaulish people fought back with heavy resistance against the Romans. The brutality of this story is told through Swiss Folk Metal band Eluveitie‘s new album, Helvetios. Helvetios is Eluveitie’s first ever concept album, and is an album that should not be ignored. This 17 track masterpiece features ever bit of the band’s unique style. From purely acoustic to brutal death metal, the album has it all.

Band: Eluveitie
Album: Helvetios
Genre: Folk Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: February 28, 2012

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As stated before, this is a concept album. All the songs contain stories about the war as is fought through out. Eluveitie uses their array of instruments to set the atmosphere in each track, making them each sound unique. For example, “Meet the Enemy”, is one of the most brutal tracks on this album. The way the instruments flow in this song is very similar to “Bloodstained Ground” on their 2008 album, Slania, giving it the heaviness it deserves. Aside from the brutality, the album contains soft folk melodies such as “Scorched Earth”. Tracks like these shows the bands extreme talent with the mastery of using actual folk instruments, rather than just using synthesizers.

One track that stands out in particular is “A Rose for Epona”, and with good reason. This song is sung by backing vocalist and hurdy-gurdy player, Anna Murphy. This isn’t Anna’s first song, as she’s the main vocalist on their 209 album, Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion, but this is by far one of her best. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1lXdLus2WI]Anna’s clean vocals will have listeners drawn into the sound of her beautiful voice, and will emotionally be attached to the lyrics. Instrumentally, the melody of the whole band fits perfectly with her singing. This track may very well be one of the best on this album, and should not be go unheard.

Aside from this track, another memorable song is “Havoc”. ”Havoc” is a more speedy song, and has an equal balance of folk and metal. Fans will have a circle pit going through out this track, while others headbang along. It is just brutal, yet catchy. If fans aren’t moshing, they’ll be screaming along with Chrigel’s brutal death growls, experiencing the intensity either way. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM1v-00C6AM]

Eluveitie is one of the most skilled bands in the Folk Metal genre. This 8 piece band carries the folk spirit, making each and every song unique from any other. Helvetios tells the epic story of the Gaulish War, and brings a wide range of emotions through the tracks. The band did an excellent job on their first concept album, and definitely will have live audiences engulfed in these songs, when performed. If you have never listened to this band before, Helvetios is definitely a great place to start!