Eluveitie
Everything Remains As It Never Was


3.0
good

Review

by Observer EMERITUS
February 12th, 2010 | 105 replies


Release Date: 2010 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Everything remains as it was last time.

A Swiss octet raging war through the musical output of guitar distortion, lovely female melodies, Mikael Stanne-esque death growls, and hurdy gurdies sounds really questionable, and, taking into consideration the time period we now live in, utterly impractical. However, let’s give it up for Eluveitie for how well they have been able to bend our initial presuppositions of doubt into some vague sense of awe and wonder at their Gaelic antics and impersonations. The earthly folk of their debut Spirit and, let’s just be honest here, the commercial-sounding take off that was 2008’s Slania have both done their part in cementing the band at the top of the tier with death folk-metal greats, such as the renowned Equilibrium or Finnish Ensiferum, and suffice it to say--despite the setback inclusion of the questionably light-sounding Evocation I to the band’s discography--anticipation for this year’s Everything Remains As It Never Was has begun to reach magnitudes that could very well register on the Richter scale.

Everything Remains[…] begins with whispered lines from, who is reasonable to assume to be, either hurdy gurdy player Anna Murphy or violinist Meri Tadic:‘What is; what was; what is to come.’ Promising, mysterious, and having to deal with the general thesis of Eluveitie’s new album, the words segue us into the first aggressive onslaught that is the title track--think “Calling The Rain” from the last album. The first thing newcomers or present fans will encounter when entering the fray of Eluveitie's new album is Chrigel Glanzmann’s likable snarl that is akin to the voice of Mikael Stanne. Sonically, having to deal with the frontman’s timbre that is, his vocals remain largely unchanged, and the melodies that many fell in love with on Slania return here as well. The Stanne worship may be too much for some, true, but as far as imparting emotion in the English/Gaelish lyrics of the songs go, Chrigel couldn’t have asked for a better voice. Album highlights like the surging “Kingdom Come Undone”, catchy "The Essence of the Ashes" and “Sempiternal Embers” will rival the likes of “Primordial Breath” and “Gray Sublime Archon” for crowd favorites at future concerts, not because of instrumental prowess, because they are founded on the firm foundation of the war-waging snarl of Chrigel and his lovely vocal melodies and the sing-a-long harmonies from the rest of the band.

The biggest disappointment when assessing Everything Remains[…], that actually can’t be heard having not listened to Eluveitie’s past albums, is the lack of instrumental improvements. I typically don’t take off points for this, but, especially when you have eight members to work with, a band like this should be able to make a dense-sounding product. The same galloping, Gothenberg riffs return, and yes, the lovely violin of Meri Tadic and the pipes of vocalist Chrigel Glanzmann are here as well, but when it gets down to it, not too much has changed since Slania; there's not much left under the guitar gallops and the added Celtic flutes. The biggest pet peeve that I have with this band, however, is this over-abundant use of instrumental interludes that have been known to take up the space of three to four tracks of Eluveite’s past efforts. “Otherworld”, “Isara”, the pointless “Setlon”, and the underwhelming end that is “The Liminal Passage” play this disappointing part on this album;however, what is even more disappointing about Everything Remains[…]'s instrumental tracks is that there is nothing that even comes close to the epic conclusion that was Slania’s “Elembivos”. What is made to look like a substantial album is really just comprised of nine solid tracks with four tracks of needless instrumental filler.

Everything Remains[…] is created to sound brutal and, as we would expect given the band’s obsession with war-like lyrical escapades, appropriately war-like; however, those familiar with the blending of folk and death genres--or the black subgenre as well--won’t be fooled with what the band are doing here. Dark Tranquillity-esque commercialism is in your face from the get go--as was the case with 2008 Slania--so those hesitant to approach Eluveitie because of the switch of stylistic styles that took place between 2006 and 2008 will still remain disappointed. Melodic death fans, on the other hand, will find plenty to devour here and sing along to. When it comes down to it, Everything Remains[…] could really just be rechristened Slania Part 2, or, if you want to be cute, Everything Remains As It Was Last Time.



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user ratings (306)
3.6
great
other reviews of this album
Scuro EMERITUS (4)
Tipping the balance in favour of the heavier side of the scale....

Dembek (3.5)
This album will satisfy many fans of Eluveitie "Everything Remains As It Never Was" pretty much stay...



Comments:Add a Comment 
Observer
Emeritus
February 13th 2010


9471 Comments


Album Stream:

http://www.myspace.com/eluveitie

Deviant.
Staff Reviewer
February 13th 2010


32288 Comments


You're killing my buzz with this 3 rating, great review though

Observer
Emeritus
February 13th 2010


9471 Comments


Thanks. I've learned to be more careful when it comes to rating things highly.

Deviant.
Staff Reviewer
February 13th 2010


32288 Comments


Haha, that's true. I'm stuck at work so I can't listen now, i'm hoping you and me have a difference of opinion lol.

In the last line I think you're missing 'be', as in "or if you want to be cute....."

Observer
Emeritus
February 13th 2010


9471 Comments


Weird, I proofed this 5 or 6 times and could have swore that I had a be there. Thanks.

If you loved Slania, you will love this. That's the main conclusion of the review, so no worries.

BallsToTheWall
February 13th 2010


51613 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

OMG

Romulus
February 13th 2010


9113 Comments


I think I might check this out actually. Good review too.

Observer
Emeritus
February 13th 2010


9471 Comments


Try it out Rom, it's pretty accessible for death-styled metal.

Crysis
Emeritus
February 13th 2010


17641 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Michael Stanne


It's Mikael Stanne



and, taking into considerations the time period we now live in


and, taking into consideration the time period



The earthly folk of debut Spirit and


of their debut



questionably light-sounding Evocation I


I don't understand how it was "questionably" light-sounding because when I hear that an album is all-acoustic I expect light.



mysterious, and, as well as being biblically derived, having to deal with the general thesis of Eluveitie’s new album, the words segue


This reads funny to me.



not because of instrumental prowess, because they are founded on the firm foundation of the war-waging snarl of Chrigel


not because of instrumental prowess, but because they are founded on the firm foundation of the war-waging snarl of Chrigel



play this disappointing part and do their folk-like, vocal-less stuff on this album


What?



switch of stylistic styles that


holy alliteration batman





Review is good, a little wordy but that's nothing to be frowned upon. I understand that this band sounds a little like DT with folk instruments but I think you really overstate the DT influences, especially concerning the vocals. He sounds remotely like Mikael Stanne but not even close to warrant saying it is "Stanne worship".





Listening to the album now, and I really enjoy it so far. I like the instrumentals a lot and I feel they work well in the album. Probably going to be a 3.5 or 4.







Observer
Emeritus
February 13th 2010


9471 Comments


Thanks, Crysis though,

The earthly folk of debut Spirit and


"debut" is merely an adjective in this case; it works either way,

switch of stylistic styles that


alliteration is just a literature tool; I don't see what's wrong with it.

not because of instrumental prowess, because they are founded on the firm foundation of the war-waging snarl of Chrigel


reading what goes before the comma makes the statement read correctly; if I had taken the phrase between the commas out and had put the extra "but" there, it would be like this:

"...for crowd favorites at future concerts but because they are founded on the firm foundation of the war-waging snarl of Chrigel"

- the way you had it would not be correct.

questionably light-sounding Evocation I


Yes, it was an all-acoustic project, but the fact they did it caused many to question it. I said "light-sounding" because a lot of fans wanted something "hard-sounding" instead. It's just a contrast adjective, not really meant to describe an already soft album, but the disappointment, if that makes sense.

The others I agree with you on, so I really appreciate it.





Crysis
Emeritus
February 13th 2010


17641 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0



alliteration is just a literature tool; I don't see what's wrong with it.


I know, I was kidding ;)



On the last track now, settling on a 3.5. A bit weaker than Slania, but not by much.

Observer
Emeritus
February 13th 2010


9471 Comments


Haha, oh I see. Basically, that's what I got too. I really wish something equivalent to or better than "elembivos" was on this.

Blindsided
February 13th 2010


1871 Comments


Anyone know the US release date? Or is it the 19th?

Observer
Emeritus
February 13th 2010


9471 Comments


Wiki and their myspace just say the 19th.

Crysis
Emeritus
February 13th 2010


17641 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

As far as I know it's the 19th everywhere.

Blindsided
February 13th 2010


1871 Comments


Weird Friday release date for the US.

Observer
Emeritus
February 13th 2010


9471 Comments


Hmm, I'm not sure I agree with you about the vocals, Crysis. It's just my opinion, but the first time I listened to Slania, I immediately thought Dark Tranquillity, especially given that Chrigel didn't exactly sound like that on Spirit at all. It seems to me that the band have gone the route on this and Slania to appeal to the Tranquillity crowd and to gain a bigger following.

Zoo
February 13th 2010


3759 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Cool review, haven't had a chance to sit down and listen to the whole thing yet. I put up the news article almost 4 hours ago but whatev.



I wasn't expecting to be amazed by this so if I end up agreeing with most, if not all of what you said, I wouldn't be surprised.

Crysis
Emeritus
February 13th 2010


17641 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

I find the vocals to be very different between the two bands. The riffs, especially on "Kingdom Come Undone" feel a lot like DT but I stand firm that the vocals don't warrant more than a slight similarity.

Observer
Emeritus
February 13th 2010


9471 Comments


Fair enough, great song too. I thought the production on it was terrible in the beginning before it suddenly kicked into full gear.



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