2016 was the year Eluveitie last visited our shores. They return to us with a new lineup and two new albums under their belt. Perth welcomed the Swiss, folk-metallers with open arms on the final night of their 2019 Australian tour.
Perth local battle metal band, Wrath Of Fenrir had the honour of warming up the stage tonight. While the bands attempts to start a ‘Rowing pit’ towards the end of their set did not work out, the crowd seemed to enjoy the local boy’s set, fist pumping and roaring in unison as frontman, Hans Fanderlinden, aggressively pointed his axe in our faces.
Perth was more than ready for Eluveitie, evidenced by many who were dressed for the occasion. More than a few Viking helmets could be spotted throughout the audience, and one particularly striking woodland fairy inspired outfit really stood out! The crowd hushed as the band majestically entered the stage to the title track of their most recent album Ategnatos. Unsurprisingly, the set heavily leaned toward newer material, but efforts were made to include “Proper old school shit” and various other tracks released throughout their long career, the first being Nil, which sent long term fans into a frenzy.
Eluveitie’s music possesses a very beauty vs twisted dichotomy. They’ll lull you into a peaceful trance, with a beautiful piece like Lvgvs, on which Fabienne Erni vocals truely shone, and then hit you over the head with something chaotic like Worship. It somehow works. Even within songs, Chrigel Glanzmann’s demon like growling juxtaposed with Fabienne’s angelic, clean vocals, balance each other to create interesting melodies.
Seeing Eluveitie bring their powerful, mystical tunes in the live setting is a unique experience for many different reasons. A big one being able to observe traditional instruments like the Hurdy Gurdy, Mandola, Bagpipes, Celtic Harp and various pipes and whistles mixed in with modern instrumentation!
All band members looked like they were having fun, interacting well with each other and the crowd. Everyone in the building jigged together on the more danceable tracks like Epona and Tegernako. This however, was not enough to appease Chrigel, who taunted us on multiple occasions that Perth did not bring as much energy as the other cities had throughout this tour. Well, this was like putting gas on a fire, as fans went even harder as the band unleashed some older tracks like Gray Sublime Archon and Inis Mona.
Maybe Perth didn’t bring as much energy on a lazy Sunday night as some of the other cities on the tour did, but they were certainly transfixed throughout Eluveitie’s impressive, two hour long set and will eagerly await their return!
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Tammie Molotov – Molotov Enterprises & Photography
