ELUVEITIE - Helvetios

There's a certain Folk wave in the Metal scene, it has been here for quite a while, but it continues to inspire artists, and often enough we come across jewels like this one. The band exists since 2002, started as a studio project, and this is their latest studio release so far. Right from the first minute it's hard not to understand skills of the band, and their ability to blend Swedish Death Metal with Folk music, without compromising either style, or sound boring and uninspired. This blending manages to enhance all the strong points of each style, creating songs that remain catchy and surprise you even if you have heard them for a while. The music here has it all, the brutality and growling of Swedish Death, the groovy parts, and the catchy feeling that will make your head bang along with the rhythm. But when the music shifts into more Folk forms, the up-tempo feeling is still there, only enriched with the female vocals, the hurdy-gurdy melodies, and the other instruments used, such as fiddles, whistles and mandola. The production is also good, clear enough, preserving all the small details of the music, without making the album sound fake or too polished. It might be an album that will stick into your mind from the first listening, but it certainly needs more than just a couple of spins to reveal all it's secrets. Another thing that I enjoyed most is that the band has managed to create a certain atmosphere, which is mostly obvious in their slower or narrating parts, where the Folk parts are on the foreground. It travels you to places, and that is a characteristic of a good album. Well written, with no weak parts, with enough variety, this album most probably will make the fans of the band rubbing their hands a grin on their faces.

9/10