Album Review: Eluveitie - Ànv
Reviewed by Richard Oliver
It’s been a good while since we had new material from Eluveitie with the band’s last album “Ategnatos” landing in 2019 which seems like a lifetime ago. The band have kept busy with touring but are unleashing their next statement of intent with their ninth full length album “Ànv”. The line up remains essentially the same as it was for the last album with the exception of Lea-Sophie Fischer (violin & hurdy gurdy) who joined in 2024 and makes her recording debut with the band.
Eluveitie are a band that have stayed pretty true to their original sound throughout their career with a mix of traditional Celtic folk music and Gothenburg style melodic death metal. Their sound has refined over the years and “Ànv” can essentially be seen as more of the same but sees the band playing to all their strengths whilst also introducing a bit of a streamlined approach to their songwriting.
There are songs in that classic Eluveitie style such as ‘Taranoías’, ‘’Premonition’ and ‘Aeon Of The Crescent Moon’ but there are also far more gentle and melodic songs which allow singer Fabienne Erni to shine such as ‘Awen’ and ‘All Is One’ but there is one different moment on the album in the form of single ‘The Prodigal Ones’ which sees the band veer into far more pop-metal territory sounding more like a song from Fabienne and guitarist Jonas Wolf’s other band Illumishade. There are plenty of interludes with the gorgeous vocally led title track being the most effective though the instrumental celtic folk jig of ‘Memories Of Innocence’ is also very enjoyable.
“Ànv” is another fine album from Eluveitie and sees the band in fine form. It manages to be as heavy as the band has ever been as well as having some of the most melodic material from the band as well as a detour into more mainstream sounding territory. The band really are on fine form with wonderful folk instrumentation and gorgeous epic melodies whilst Fabienne Erni continues to shine as a singer and remains one of the most inspired additions to the band’s line up. Aside from ‘The Prodigal Ones’, the album offers up little in surprises but sees Eluveitie maintain their reputation as one of the finest bands in folk metal.
