Eluveitie - Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion (2009) - Following a trend in a boring way - 49% (12/05/11)

After Eluveitie finally found a good mixture between melodic death metal and Celtic folk influences on their last album "Slania", they decided to move away from this and create an acoustic album. I really expected that this step came too soon and many other bands did this kind of acoustic albums so that Eluveitie only followed a trend. But it came even worse because this record is even less inspiring and original than the acoustic excursions of their colleagues of "Elvenking" or "In Extremo". This record is a huge step back and into the wrong direction for a band that finally found its own and unique style.

Let's mention the positive parts first. There are a few catchy tracks on this album as the addicting single "Omnos" and the rather folk influenced and joyful "Brictom". There are also some really relaxing and chilling tracks on the record like the diversified instrumental "Carnutian forest", the atmospheric folk tale "Dessumiis Luge" and the strange melancholic ballad "Voveso in mori". Let's say that those songs are well done but you still won't find anything truly outstanding and great here that you haven't heard before.

While there are some enjoyable average tracks that invite to take a break and dream away like the “In Extremo” light track "Memento" or the calm "Na regv na", most of the songs are profoundly bound to boredom and simply go nowhere. That doesn't mean that a couple of songs don't have good ideas but they sound all quite similar and uninspired or they are repeated way too much and too long. That doesn't create a hypnotizing or haunting effect but a rather sleepy mood.

Some tracks are though very bad. After a while, one simply can't enjoy the shriek and annoying flutes, pseudo-intellectual chorals and dumb background growls. Especially the male vocals are too aggressive and annoying while the female vocals are interesting in a few songs but always repeat the same patterns and lose the effect of the first positive impression quite fast. That's where this album reminds me of the folk experiments of "Atrocity" that are comparable to the efforts of this record. I can't decide which band does the worst job but I would probably go for Eluveitie as they simply follow the masses and don't even try to add something new or even spectacular to the genre. Maybe they try to be innovating when a girl recites a strange poem while some boring folk pattern play and they decide to call the whole thing "A girl's oath" but the song just sounds ridiculous and stereotypical to me. The title track "The Arcane Dominion" represents very well what the album stands for and one soon loses the little glimpse of interest in this overlong track filled with the usual ideas and melodies that won’t touch or impress or addict anybody anymore. A few other negative examples that go into the same vein might be “”Within the grove”, “The cauldron of renascence” and “Nata”.

At least the bonus material is well chosen. The metal version of "Omnos" is interesting to compare to the acoustic version and both tracks have a different core and atmosphere. The concert on the special edition of the album is energizing and entertaining but not necessary for those that already have the "Live at Metalcamp" album that is even more complete and better done.

In the end, there are a few enjoyable tracks and some good bonus material but that's not enough to get an average rating. This album follows a trend and mostly bores to death. Instead of continuing the great fusion of the two styles the band is inspired by, they split them up and made an acoustic album followed by a death metal album with some folk interludes and made a huge step back. This album is a true disappointment after the last breakthrough and that's why my rating might seem a little bit harsh to some people but I think that is still justified. I wouldn't recommend this album to anyone - neither the fans of the band's latest two record nor those who adore Celtic folk music. Better go and take a look at the German Medieval Rock scene or some good old albums by “Skyclad” or “Cruachan”.