Swiss folk metallers Eluveitie will release their new album, “Ategnatos”, on April 5 via Nuclear Blast. The official music video for the title track can be watched below. The clip was produced in January by the Polish company Grupa13. The cover artwork for the disc was created by Travis Smith.
The band states: “‘Ategnatos’ probably became our most organic album by all accounts. It is the result of a thoroughly intuitive process, where we gave creativity full scope. And during this process quite some back-to-the-roots developments emerged in diverse aspects. Many a riff off ‘Ategnatos’ reminds on the guitar work on ‘Slania’. Following our gut feeling, we brought the mixing duties back to Jens Bogren‘s Fascination Street studios, where our Nuclear Blast debut was produced. And regarding the album artwork, it soon became very clear to us that we’d love to work with the fabulous Travis Smith again, who already created the front covers of our albums ‘Spirit’ (14 years ago!) and ‘Everything Remains As It Never Was’. And we’re honestly excited with the result! The front cover shows a spectacular scenery in central Switzerland, a so-called ‘vulva cave’, as it was sought to mark sacred rites of fertility and celebrations of life in ancient times! The artwork mystically and beautifully expresses the ‘Ategnatos’‘s very core and essence! Once again, it was a pleasure to work with Travis!”
Recordings for “Ategnatos” took at New Sound Studio with their engineer of choice Tommy Vetterli.
A work based on archaic archetypes and the ancient concept of renewal, “Ategnatos” unfolds an elemental force to be reckoned with. “These archetypes are still within us,” leader Christian “Chrigel” Glanzmann says. “People didn’t change that much during the last 3000 years — and men were always just men.” No wonder the album follows a decidedly darker, monumental tone that suits them very well.
Of course, Eluveitie has long had its very own trademark sound, a sonic adventure often copied but never overcome. With “Ategnatos”, the dedicated nine-piece not only worked with a real string quartet and granted Fabienne Erni‘s sublime mastery of the harp the room it deserved; they also undertook a holistic upgrade resulting in some of the catchiest, most aggressive and most epic tunes the Swiss metal nobility has ever offered.
Eluveitie recently announced a European tour with Lacuna Coil and Infected Rain. (dates below).
Upcoming Shows:
Nov. 02 – I – Bari – Demodè **
Nov. 03 – I – Rome – Orion **
Nov. 05 – I – Bologna – Estragon **
Nov. 06 – I – Milan – Live Club **
Nov. 08 – D – Stuttgart – LKA Longhorn
Nov. 09 – D – Oberhausen – Turbinenhalle II
Nov. 10 – B – Antwerp – Trix
Nov. 12 – GB – Manchester – Ritz **
Nov. 13 – GB – Glasgow – Garage **
Nov. 14 – IRL – Dublin – Academy **
Nov. 15 – GB – Bristol – SWX **
Nov. 16 – GB – London – The Forum **
Nov. 17 – NL – Utrecht – Tivoli Ronda*
Nov. 19 – D – Frankfurt – Batschkapp
Nov. 20 – D – Hannover – Capitol
Nov. 21 – D – Berlin – Huxleys
Nov. 22 – D – Leipzig – Felsenkeller
Nov. 23 – D – Munich – Tonhalle
Nov. 24 – A – Dornbirn – Conrad Sohm
Nov. 26 – F – Bordeaux – Le Rocher de Palmer
Nov. 27 – E – Barcelona – Razzmatazz II
Nov. 28 – E – Madrid – Mon Live
Nov. 29 – F – Toulouse – Le Bikini
Nov. 30 – F – Rennes – L’Etage
Dec. 01 – F – Paris – Elysée-Montmartre
Dec. 03 – D – Saarbrücken – Garage
Dec. 04 – D – Nürnberg – Hirsch
Dec. 05 – SLO – Ljubljana – Kino Siska
Dec. 08 – A – Vienna – Arena
Dec. 12 – LV – Riga – Melna Piektdiena
Dec. 13 – FIN – Helsinki – Tavastia
Dec. 14 – FIN – Tampere – Pakkahuone
Dec. 15 – EST – Tallinn – Rock Cafe
Dec. 17 – S – Stockholm – Klubben Fryshuset
Dec. 18 – N – Oslo – Vulkan Arena
Dec. 19 – S – Gothenburg – Trädgarn
Dec. 21 – D – Hamburg – Docks
* without Lacuna Coil
** headliner Lacuna Coil
The band’s new lineup made its live debut at the Eluveitie & Friends festival in January 2017 at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland.
Current line-up:
* Jonas Wolf (guitar)
* Matteo Sisti (whistles, bagpipes, mandola)
* Nicole Ansperger (fiddle)
* Alain Ackermann (drums)
* Chrigel Glanzmann (vocals, whistles, mandola, bagpipes, bodhran)
* Fabienne Erni (vocals, celtic harp, mandola)
* Kay Brem (bass)
* Michalina Malisz (hurdy gurdy)
* Rafael Salzmann (guitar)
Weblinks: Website / Facebook / Twitter
Video for ‘Ategnatos’
Video for ‘Rebirth’