Ревью альбома "VEN Remastered" от Lords Of Metal (Английский язык) (01/12/04)
Think about Celts and the first countries that pop into mind are Ireland, Scotland and Wales and maybe after that Normandy and Brittany in France. But for those who dig a little deeper into the Celtic history, they know that the Celts, a name put on a variety of tribes, could be found scattered all over Europe and even beyond. One of those tribes were the Helvetians, who came from the north east of Europe and settled in what now is called Switzerland. The language of these people has been long gone, but the Swiss group Eluveitie tries to bring back that lost page of their history on the debut album /Vn/. Eluveitie started out as a studio project, but after receiving raving reviews the group of musicians decided to go on as a real band. /Vn/ is an eyebrow-raising debut to say the least. The intense Viking metal elements (i.e. raging vocals, blistering drums and rampaging guitars) are mixed with a lot of traditional melodies and instruments, thus creating a kind of music that is half way in between In Extremo and Thyrfing. Add that with the fact that some of the lyrics are written in a mixed language of "Schwyyzerdtsch" and Gallic and it is clear that we have something original in our hands. The production is also top notch. In spite of the brute violence of the drums and guitars there/s still enough room for the folk elements. There are not a lot of bands that can pull that off, but Eluveitie does. Must hear are the opening track /D/Vrit Agge D/Bitu/ (translated: the truth against the world), the aggressive /Us Elveti/ and the atmospheric closing track /Jzag/. It/s a shame that the band had to resort to Britannic and Irish songs for their traditional melodies (expect for /r/ that is). It seems that there isn/t a lot left of the Helveticas musical history, but that is just a detail. This album has a Dutch angle to it too, because it was mixed in the Mailmen Studios in Utrecht. Just to let you know. All in all, Eluveitie hits the streets with a convincing debut. The production is good and the artwork is also something to take a look at. To go short, this CD won/t be out of place if found under a Christmas tree of a pagan metal head.