Eluveitie
Slania

THE REVIEW

There is a fundamental fact that divides bands that believe they need to "ride the wave" and those that make trends their own, mix them, combine them with other attitudes, break them down, then reassemble and finally compact them, creating an invulnerable war machine, a blend of power, epicness, folklore, and genius.

The difference lies in the attitude, as already mentioned. If this is fresh and genuine, then you can only expect excellent work. And this is the case with the Swiss band Eluveitie. A very young band composed of several instrumentalists, not only including the classic guitar-vocals-guitar-bass-drums lineup and perhaps keyboards, but also a varied universe of flutes, bagpipes, and other "tools of the trade" that do not fall into Metal orthodoxy. They may not precisely be the epitome of what they call the "New Wave of Folk Metal", but at least they can count on a powerful, calibrated, and excessively solid wall of sound.

Listening to the songs on this album, then, if you have the grim and conservative mindset of the "purists", you almost scream scandal, because the frenzied rhythm section in line with a certain Swedish Death Metal, is wisely mixed with the instruments and references to Folk and the love for the ancient barbarian cultures of the Swiss land.
Each piece of this record brings to mind strong images but, beware, not stereotypical ones. Here there are no lunar passages nor overly deep digressions into certain Celtic chants, nor, finally, journeys into the Nordic ice. Each note, while using some of the most varied and bizarre instruments, exudes power, speed, and especially the background of these young emerging artists that would make more than a few "veterans" devoted to Viking or Melodic Death Metal pale.

So it's easy to go, and without having to fully immerse in the roles (the furious sound strides present already take care of that, which more than accompany the listener, hurl them directly into an ancestral and mysterious past), from calls of war (Primordial Breath, Inis Mona, Bloodstained Ground) to pagan invocations (Samon, Anagantios, Giamonios), reaching an intelligent and jaw-dropping merger between Folk, as expressed by the best Ensiferum, for example, and the sharp and powerful Death of Soilwork.

However, it would be a pity if I had to evaluate the quality of "Slania" simply by referring every time to some specific aspect of each song: all of them, but really all of them, constitute an inseparable and incandescent chain of volcanic power always connected to refrains, verses, and folk passages nested within one another; easy to memorize, yet complex when listened to carefully. And therein lies the greatness of this band. Another one that will make its way. Especially if they continue in the honest and intelligent manner they have pursued so far, which, started with their first album "Spirit", allowed them to move quickly from a small independent label (Fear Music), to a giant like Nuclear Blast, which certainly realized their extraordinary potential. And rightly so.

So, this is yet another original new release of this new year. Not to be missed. Provided that you appreciate the genre, of course. But we must consider that the potential fan and supporter base of Eluveitie, precisely because of their tendency to combine different aspects of different genres, is potentially very broad, and therefore it may not take much to become attached to and passionate about their attitude.