One of the biggest disappointments of the year thus far was when ELUVEITIE had to pull out of the Pagan Fest North American tour. On the upside, how on earth would the band be able to come up with brand new material and release a new album so quickly after the acclaimed "Slania" remains a mystery. It also raises a lot of curiosity regarding the band's supernatural songwriting capabilities.

The new album "Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion" proves that the departure of bassist Rafi Kirder along with his twin brother Sevan (bagpipes, flute and whistles) has not impeded the songwriting horsepower of the band in any way. On the contrary, they appear to have grown from it to become an even stronger entity. For one thing, ELUVEITIE were able to find a replacement in a timely fashion with their new whistle player Pade Kistler along with new bassist Kay Brem (ex-CATARACT) and are now on their way to see their audience grow beyond the metal public. This album is all ELUVEITIE but not metal. Not even close. In addition, this time around, there is a stronger presence from spellbinding vocalist Anna Murphy (also playing the hurdy-gurdy).

From what has been heard through the grape-wine, "Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion" is part of a two series epic. While this album is entirely acoustic and takes the eight piece combo to a different level altogether, the soon to be released "Evocation II -Visions" should be metal and more to what fans have been accustomed to thus far. However, the results probably go way beyond the effects the band would have expected. The music of ELUVEITIE sounds mysterious as well as ancient and is performed at a level of high virtuosity. Despite many interludes, the fairy-like melodies of masterpieces such as "Bictom" as well as the extremely infectious title track "The Arcane Dominion", or the groovy "Omnos", this album take you in a voyage back in time, centuries before the Roman invasion, when the main language spoken was Gaulish, a language dead for about two thousand years.

Even as this new release is more suitable to the World Music and Celtic Music categories, it remains one of the most impressive performances by a metal band and clearly demonstrates the incredible talent necessary to create such unique melodies. If you have been an ELUVEITIE fan since the release of their debut EP "Ven" (2003), this opus will go far above and beyond your expectations. I can't even imagine what "Evocation II - Visions" is going to sound like.