When it comes to musical acts, Eluveitie is a bit of an anomaly.

Created nearly twenty-five years ago, the Melodic Folk Metal band has a literal laundry list of former members and only has one musician who has been there since day one. Yet despite these factors usually causing the act to fizzle out, it instead enabled Eluveitie to constantly reinvent themselves while also somehow retaining a very clear and very likeable common thread.

Chrigel Glanzmann is certainly the key cog in this machine, having contributed vocals and played about half a dozen instruments since the band started in 2002. And Anv (Nuclear Blast Records) fits so neatly into the illustrious discography, yet also feels fresh and inspired. 

Additionally, what’s made Eluveitie so great for so long is its combination of fiercely gritty Metal and perfectly placed/rarely overused utilization of Folk instruments (which is another laundry list to peruse). There may be a bevy of interludes or short instrumental passages, but they’re never saturated or thrown in to beef up a record.

“Anamcara” is an acoustic, spoken piece that is still gripping and boasts infectious storytelling vibes. “Memories Of Innocent” succeeds in painting a picture of a late night at the pub filled with glee and that glorious violin, especially.

Working as a foil to those aforementioned pieces, “Aeon Of The Crescent Moon” is a quintessential Eluveitie track. A majestic string/percussion intro ushers in the rhythm section, which allows the song to become toweringly serene. It’s imbued with heft and bravado, and is characteristically energetic and evenly balanced between the two distinct subgenres.

“All Is One” houses a sung intro and dazzling progressions throughout, and also has time and room for massive group choruses and wind instruments, and flutes that evoke a nature scene straight out of any fantasy novel or folklore.

It’s (presumably) difficult enough to keep a musical act going for over two decades. Add in a plethora of unorthodox instruments and a boatload of creative minds coming and going over that time, and it should be a recipe for disaster.

Eluveitie is anything but, and Anv is yet another stupendous piece of evidence to the contrary. 

Buy the album here:
https://eluveitie.bfan.link/anv

9 / 10
MATT COOK
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