Slania
Sometimes blending two things that seemingly don't belong together at all can result in a wonderful creation, like Oreos and a deep fryer. In this sense, Celtic metal band Eluveitie is the deep-fried Oreo, with their second studio album, "Slania," being one of the most truly inspired...albeit bizarre... musical creations I've ever heard.
At first thought, blending two distinctly different genres like Celtic music and metal sounds like a bit of a disaster on the drawing board, but the reality is that as weird as it is, it works. While Eluveitie's music features typical instruments found in a metal band like the guitar, drums and bass guitar, the band also utilizes a slew of other classical Irish instruments, including the bagpipes, flutes, violin, hurdy gurdy, mandola, and the bodhran, a type of Irish drum. "Slania" features a nice balance of all of these instruments, with none overpowering the other. "Elembivos," is a shining moment on the album, as it is more or less an instrumental (the only vocals are the perpetual chanting of the same phrase in the background) that showcases the band members' talents on the various Irish instruments.
The key to making such a bizarre combination successful, however, lies in Eluveitie's intelligent use of each of its instruments, using each of them only at the appropriate time. Rather than forcing certain elements of Celtic music like the flute or fiddle into passages where they don't belong, they'll take some time to let the distorted guitars run free and do a solo or something. Afterwards, they'll dial the guitars back and give some of the other instruments a proper setting to be exhibited, rather than trying to, for example, play the violin over a blistering guitar solo. Similarly, the bagpipes turn out to be especially versatile in that they sound nice alone, but also blend exceptionally well with the rhythm guitar.
The vocals are one the most interesting aspects on "Slania." Lead singer Chrigel Glanzmann typically relies on growling his lyrics, but often he is joined with background vocals provided by other band members as he occasionally shifts into a melodic tone. His lyrics on the album are also a mix of English and Gaulish, which is a dead language. Gaulish is typically used in spoken word passages, but it's also used in some of the singing passages as well, making for some truly interesting and haunting moments.
The only complaint I have with "Slania" is that as wonderfully unique (and enjoyable) as the music is, some of the tracks sound somewhat similar to one another. Songs frequently open in a similar fashion, featuring heavy guitars with bagpipes being played over them before the latter are eventually dropped before Glanzmann's growls make their entrance for the verse. It should also be noted that other instruments besides the guitars are rarely used in the verses, leaving only intros, bridges, and the occasional chorus to differentiate some of the tracks from each other.
What makes Eluveitie so great is the refreshingly unique concept of their music, so any metal heads that are looking for something truly new to experience, "Slania" is a great start. Even if metal isn't necessarily your thing, the album is still worth a listen just to see, against all odds, how surprisingly well Celtic music and metal blend. There are very few bands out there that have music like this, but others should at least consider emulating Eluveitie's creativity and innovation.