The Swiss folk metallers Eluveitie return with “Evocation II – Pantheon“. Those who’ve been following the band know that in 2009 they released “Evocation I – The Arcane Dominion“. The sequel is the continuation of the folk melodies of the first one. Many acoustic vibes and the lack of metal elements continue to appear perhaps, in a greater scale.
“Evocation II” is dedicated to Celtic mythology and all the songs have been named after Celtic gods. The main member Chringel replaced five of the nine band members last year to create it. The most obvious change is the singer off course. The new vocalist seems to know the Gaelic dialect in which the songs are written, since she has a perfect pronunciation and good performance in general. The male vocals are missing as we had previously been accustomed to the double vocals that contained the growls of Chringel which offered a strong contrast.
The songs are catchy and I think it is the closest that can exist in the Celtic culture and the music of the Middle Ages if it continued to this day. They use traditional instruments to produce this climate like hardy-gurdy, bagpipe, mandolin, harp, pipes, whistles and more. The violin is also a characteristic instrument. As I mentioned above, there is no sound of the electric guitar and replaced by acoustic guitars.
I personally liked this album because I am a lover of this genre. Maybe my rating could have been higher if it was more metal but many moments made me want to dance or even sing along without knowing the lyrics. (7,5)
Konstantinos Paizanos