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No thing shall last
And there are things
That shall never change
History is written in blood
For everything remains
As it never was
The Swiss band Eluveitie has, after three full-length albums, received widespread recognition for their unique combination of traditional folk music and melodic death metal. Everything Remains (As It Never Was) is their fourth album and the band has, according to the guitarist Ivo Henzi, "developed on both sides", making the album very dark and melancholic in some parts while metal influences are completely absent in other parts.
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[HEADING=1]The Review[/HEADING]
The intro, Otherworld, awoke a feeling of anxiety when the gimmicky and overused concept was recognised - a gloomy tune that slowly crescendoes accompanied by spoken words. However, once the folk instruments kicked in after about 20 seconds, I was in awe. It was simply beautiful.After the surprisingly good intro, the title track starts with an unexpected blastbeat immediately followed by numerous folk instruments. This track provides everything we've come to expect of Eluveitie with a good mix of folk and metal influences. Female vocals assist in making this a varied and enjoyable song.
It is obvious that the following song, Thousandfold, was created for the sole purpose of being released as a single. The drums and the guitars sound extremely generic, while the hurdy-gurdy receives more attention than necessary to emphasize on the folk aspects rather than the fusing of two genres. It's a decent song, but it only serves as an introduction to the band and leaves most of the musicians in the shadows.
To compensate for the previous song, Nil and The Essence of the Ashes give the "metal instruments" plenty of space where an entire minute may pass without the intervention of any folk instruments. Apart from the slightly higher focus on metal, these songs basically follow the traditional Eluveitie recipe.
The intense metal outbursts are followed by the instrumental song Isara, riddled with various flutes and guitars. This track also features drums (and even a few double kicks) which makes it a lot more interesting than songs such as Anagantios from their highly acclaimed album Slania. Overall, it's a very good song that provides a needed break from the intensity while somehow being more emotional than the metal oriented songs.
Kingdom Come Undone once again demonstrates the band's ability to combine folk music and metal to create something truly unique. Quoth the Raven is one of the weaker songs on the album, presumably meant to showcase the darker side of Eluveitie but failing miserably. It ends up being a fairly boring mid-tempo song that lacks force. (Do) Minion, like its predecessor, tries to focus on brutality and does it slightly better. The vocals, drums and guitars sound heavy until the chorus, which suddenly turns the song into some kind of singalong rubbish and significantly reduces the quality of an otherwise good song.
The album's second instrumental song, Setlon, is a lot happier than Isara without venturing into the cheesy territory. It is simply a folky song with a groovy drum beat. In Sempiternal Embers, the standard guitar heavy verses and folk heavy choruses reappear, but the transition between the two is a bit untailored. However, the bridge makes up for that flaw by featuring some very interesting drumming on the snare and toms.
Lugdunon, the second to last song, is simply dreadful. It starts with a yodeling woman and an instrument that sounds like a duck, followed by muzzled male vocals. The track is literally riddled with weird instrument choices and uninspired song structure. Other bad choices include a random guitar solo and chanting vocals.
In the outro, The Liminal Passage, the intro is echoed. The mellow tune and the folk instruments are there, but it doesn't work as well this time. "Everything remains as it never was", the words that made such a large impact in the opening song, are repeated in the end, but the song abruptly ends after that. Suddenly removing the tension that had been building up for two minutes is an odd way to end the record. An explosive finish would have made the aftertaste so much sweeter.
[HEADING=1]Summary[/HEADING]
Everything Remains (As It Never Was) is a very good album, but some songs decrease the overall quality. Ivo Henzi's statement about developing on both sides is true, but this is not always a positive development. The folk and metal influences are beginning to drift apart, making it seem like two different bands are performing some songs on the album. This album managed to maintain a decent balance between the two genres, but I fear for Eluveitie's future. The concept that originally made them so great is beginning to go stale.7/10
[HEADING=2]Recommendations[/HEADING]