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Eluveitie - Everything Remains (As It Never Was) review



Reviewer:
9.5

577 users:
7.99
Band: Eluveitie
Album: Everything Remains (As It Never Was)
Release date: February 2010


01. Otherworld
02. Everything Remains (As It Never Was)
03. Thousandfold
04. Nil
05. The Essence Of Ashes
06. Isara
07. Kingdom Come Undone
08. Quoth The Raven
09. (Do)Minion
10. Setlon
11. Sempiternal Embers
12. Lugdūnon
13. The Liminal Passage
14. Otherworld Set [digipack bonus]
15. The Liminal Passage Set [digipack bonus]

One can fall in love with this album since the first listening and with this review I will explain the reasons.

Right in the beginning one might feel like being taken on a journey when the song "Otherworld" opens the gates to a superior art of storytelling music.
The title track then introduces the listeners to the metal style Eluveitie have always been known for, mighty and beautiful folk melodies together with heavy guitars, bass and drums.
This union of Gothenburg and folk metal runs throughout the whole album while the balance often changes:
Where "Kingdom Come Undone" definitely bears more death metal characteristics, songs like "Lugdūnon" and "Quoth The Raven" express the folk side of this album.

"Quoth The Raven" shall here be named as a really characteristic and superior example of folk metal because of the total unity of all the instruments and vocals mostly played in mid-tempo and containing a beautiful duet in the chorus and a growl of Anna Murphy that makes you shiver!
Her voice has improved very much since the last album, fitting more to metal and Chrigel's vocals which are this time also great, harsher and a little bit darker than on the previous albums and therefore better for both the music and the lyrics on this album.

All the musicians do a very great job on this, especially the bass and drums which both underline the folk melodies in a "folk way" and the metal side as necesssary.
Guitar use often varies between the backing of the folk instruments and smashing forward with heavy and glamorous melodies. The folk melodies catch you soon with their underlining way to the lyrics, as well as with just the catchiness of most of them. Lyrics are a little different compared to those of the previous albums, the stories darker and concerning more elements of certain people in the Helvetian culture, thus giving a personal touch to the album and supporting the feeling of the music enormously!

The standard version of this album contains thirteen songs, where four of them are acoustic which might seem as too much at first but, in fact, is not.
"Isara" is an especially outstanding song in this category with magnificent acoustic guitar passages guiding you throughout the song. Other highlights include "Sempiternal Embers", "Thousandfold" and "Quoth The Raven".

The only weak passages are, in my opinion, the chorus of "(Do)Minion" which doesn't really get into my ear and the constantly over-repeated melody of "Setlon".
Overall, Everything Remains As It Never Was is a nearly perfect album, well thought-out and peerlessly implemented, containing a superior performance of Eluveitie with a new grade of folk metal!


Rating breakdown
Performance: 10
Songwriting: 10
Originality: 8
Production: 10

Written by Windrider | 05.06.2010




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.


Comments

Comments: 12   Visited by: 244 users
05.06.2010 - 13:36
ErnilEnNaur
Account deleted
I hope this album is as good as you say it is. Eluveitie has always been excellent. Nice review.
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05.06.2010 - 14:12
Magatouve
Account deleted
This is a decent album and a good come back for Eluveitie after their previous non-metal release. However, I don't think it' deserves 9.5 by any means. Maybe 8. Ironically, as well, the two songs which the reviewer didn't like are the ones which I liked most, especially Do(Minion).
Overall, I think the music of Eluveitie is really great in its folk and melodic side, but in terms of metal work, the band should develop it further and take it beyond the overused Gothenburg style.
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06.06.2010 - 08:09
Ellrohir
Heaven Knight
I just noticed there is no staff review for this...how come? such a "jewel" in metal crown as Eluveitie...
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My rest seems now calm and deep
Finally I got my dead man sleep


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06.06.2010 - 15:43
Rating: 9
Anibx

I had always like Eluveitie simply because they're one of the few bands that actually PLAY folkmetal. There's a lot of band out there that just make a metal album then put in some folk elements to the already recorded album and think that's it.
Eluveitie mix perfectly the two sides of their music from the begining, that why they sound so great.
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06.06.2010 - 19:37
BitterCOld
The Ancient One
Lol at val b... glad to see he removed his comment before he got called out for his bad math. oh wait, i think i just called him out.
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get the fuck off my lawn.

Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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07.06.2010 - 03:11
Rating: 10
Wes

Nice
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07.06.2010 - 21:24
Malevolent-Jim

I am fond of Eluveitie.This album to me though was rather a pain to listen to at times.The folk-ish parts were great but the male vocals, for me at least just ruin it.They sound terrible.Also it was unfortunate that the female vocalist, who was pretty decent, didn't appear in the album very much at all.

That said, it's a good album just nothing spectacular in my opinion.
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10.06.2010 - 16:32
Rating: 6
Paradox0
Unasuming Madnes
This album is exactly what I feared. Either they have said what they wanted to say artistically through their last albums, are attempting to "sell-out" by becoming more mainstream (god I hate saying that but it just seems more true than not), or both. as a result, the music is kind of bland and unadventurous. Even the folk instruments seem kind of unoriginal. Unlike before where they seemed to add a nice touch to the music and giving Eluveitie their unique identity, the folk instruments are just there as hooks, and as a result of this approach to using them, they've lost their luster. Even them singing in English, although not necessarily bad, as I now know what their saying, has also driven the band away from their sense of identity. Overal, thus is a modern In Flames-esque Gothenburg album with flutes. Although not bad, it is fairly average. 6/10
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08.07.2010 - 02:29
Rating: 8
MétalNoir
Fils du Lys
I don't know exactly what to think about this album... It's fucking catchy, but yes, it's kind of a sell-out... They went deeper in their own style with Quoth the Raven, etc, but some tracks are very similar (ex. Kingdom Come Undone, Sempiternal Embers and The Essence of Ashes, which all are folksy In Flames-like Gothenburg songs.) Some tracks have impressive complexity, though, the title track especially, and Dominion is a catchy reminder of Bloodstained Ground. But yes, I miss the Gallic lyrics and the diversity of Spirit (not Slania, which was sooo repetitive).
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Notre destinée n'est pas encore tracée....
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31.08.2010 - 23:28
emanuel

The best album ever
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30.05.2011 - 14:47
Rating: 5
Kuroboshi

I really understood the concept 'been there done that' when I listened to this album. And every time a good riff is building up it gets ruined by some change in rythm. I guess i won't give this disc any more spins.
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06.08.2011 - 23:02
opeth771

I don't care what people say about Eluveitie and their albums, but all I can say, is that they gave me the best show I ever saw in my entire life. And that that time, I only knew one or two or their songs...
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