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Track Listing: Otherworld (1:57) Everything Remains as It Never Was (4:25) Thousandfold (3:20) Nil (3:43) The Essence of Ashes (3:59) Isara (2:44) Kingdom Come Undone (3:22) Quoth the Raven (4:42) (Do)minion (5:07) Setlon (2:36) Sempiternal Embers (4:52) Lugdunon (4:01) The Liminal Passage (2:15)

Eluveitie pronounced EL- vay- tee is probably one of the biggest bands you haven't heard of. This is their 5th studio outing (the last one being Evocation 1: The Arcane Dominion). The last album received mixed reviews since it was more a folk album than a metal effort. This album however just as the title says takes them back to their folk metal roots. I had huge expectations from Eluveitie after hearing the last 3 albums. Most people may have already heard the song Thousandfold which is the first single off the album and it comes with a supporting music video. The band has uploaded the entire album on MySpace for the fans to listen to as they always do a few weeks before the actual release. Here is a track by track review of the album.

The album opener is the intro Otherworld. As I gaze at the artwork for the album. The intro fits perfectly. Mountains covered with snow and a fair long haired maiden. Slania featured a girl on the album cover with a sword. This album shows a young woman and whether it was intentional or not it signifies the band's growth. It starts off with eerie atmospheric sounds and Anna's clean (yes she growls on this album) vocals. The main melody to the remainder of the intro is their normal elfish folk sound. This is the calm before the storm (that cliche never gets old when it comes to reviewing metal albums).

The next song is the title track and it starts off with blazing drums from Merlin Sutter. The guitars and hurdy gurdy come in and build on the melody. There is a nice break in the beginning before the vocals. Chrigel's vocals have vastly improved since their last album. The distorted guitars and folk instruments blend perfectly with Chrigel's growls and Anna's clean vocals. The main intro plays a few more times in the song. It also features vocal effects for Chrigel which I'm not really fond off. I prefer his standard growls. This is one of the few songs on the album in which Anna's vocals are in the forefront. The bridge is the typical folk metal bridge with guitars taking a backseat to the flute harmony in this case. The violin comes in after this harmony followed by Anna and Chrigel trading vocal patterns. The mandola sound is inserted at the perfect time. One thing that I really like about Eluveitie is Anna's and Chrigel's vocals complementing each other. This song showcases Merlin's amazing drum skills.

The next song is the first single from the album entitled Thousandfold. It starts off with distorted guitars, drums and the quintessential flute. A hurdy gurdy riff follows. The drums and distorted guitars play together here. This song is very catchy and has a very commercial feel to it while maintaining Eluveitie's standard. It's no Inis Mona (that song is in a whole other league. That entire album is). The chorus is repeated a few too many times in the song. When songs have the chorus followed by another chorus played higher (in pitch) I lose interest. It reminds me of the Trivium commercial song "dying in your arms". It is definitely one of the weaker songs on the album.

Nil follows thousandfold. This song is very good on many levels. It is akin to Tarvos (Slania). The guitar riffs on this one really stand out and that's what makes me really like it. The flute riff on this one is very catchy and plays along really well with Chrigel's growls. The bridge on this one is one of the best bridges I've heard in a folk metal song. Chrigel's vocal effects annoy me in many parts of the album. They are not required at all in my opinion.

The next song is The Essence of Ashes. The intro is the typical folk instrument, guitar, drum intro. The guitar riff is very familiar sounding. Chrigel's vocals really shine here. He has his growls and clean vocals. I hear some background vocals from Anna as well. The strong structure is normal. This song really would have stood out with a nice guitar solo. Eluveitie for some reason have one guitar solo per album. More on that when it appears.

Isara is a beautiful acoustic folk piece that sounds like a song off Evocation 1 but played to suit this album. The acoustic Crystal clear guitar rhythm is very soothing. The flute comes in with a nice melody. This melody ceases for a few seconds before coming in again with the drums and bass. This is what one wants to hear on an Eluveitie album. It is a mere 2 and a half minutes long but remains as one of the more memorable songs on this effort.

The next song is Kingdome come undone which has been played by the band on their previous tour. I've seen many live versions of this song on YouTube from various concerts and I am happy to say that this song sounds a whole lot better here. This song has more metal in it than any song on the album. It has a very nice flute melody that goes higher as the song progresses. This song has many tempo changes and makes it one of the better songs on the album.

Quoth of Raven starts off with a violin riff and ravens crowing in the background. That comes to an end with a plectrum slide on a distorted guitar which builds up the tempo. The guitars really stand out on this one. Chrigel and Anna have a brilliant vocal harmony going on here. They really make this song sound like Eluveitie. The middle of the song has a break that has the guitar riffs and Chrigel's growl building up to a guitar/flute harmony. This part reminded me of the Slania album closer, Elembivos. A minute before the song is over; Anna has a spoken part with the ravens just like the intro. What really stands out here is Anna growling. She pulled it off really well. It's not for a big section but it feels right.

(Do) minion maybe the heaviest song on the album. The folk element seems a bit forced over here. The chorus doesn't fit the remainder of the song. It's like the band have mashed two strong and one weak section together. This song is the weakest song on the album in my opinion.

Setlon is the second instrumental on the album after Isara. This along with the aforementioned instrumental is one of the most memorable portions on this folk metal record. The flute harmonies glisten this gem of a song. There is not much else to say about this song. I love it.

Sempiternal Embers is the 'Your Gaulish War' of the album. I do not mean that in terms of the greatness of the song it is compared to. The structure is very similar. It is another strong track from this album. This song would have fitted very well on Slania. It feels strangely necessary and unnecessary on this album. That statement makes as much sense as the title of this album. This song will definitely be a staple in their live set in the years to come. It ends with a fade out.

Ludgunon is another Anna lead song on the album. It starts off with a hurdy gurdy and guitar riff that is the most commercial thing Eluveitie have come up with. That is the first thing that turned me off this song. The remainder of the song is very good although it has various commercial and catchy elements to it. The guitar solo on this song is nowhere near the one on Elembivos. It seems to be more forced than anything. The section after the guitar solo is this jungle-esque chant that goes into the main intro riff. The riff goes higher and sounds very nice with Anna's vocals but is still too commercial for Eluveitie. This is the last song on the album barring the album closer that begins off like the intro.

The Liminal Passage closes this folk metal album. The bright side of the song is that the album ends on a high note. It is a very fitting ending and I can imagine being there for a live show and hearing this over the PA after the band has finished a performance.

Few things to note about the album are the mix. It is very good on some songs and not so good on others. They have managed to pull off mixing 8 different players into a song well before. On a few songs it sounds like too much is happening. Given the big names producing and mixing this album I expected a lot more. The album is far from perfect. It has its weak moments like Thousandfold, (do)minion and Ludgunon. It may not attract as many new fans as Slania did back in 2008 but for the old fans it will not disappoint. A lot of Eluveitie fans did not like their last acoustic folk effort and will be glad to know that Eluveitie is back to their Folk Metal roots on this one. I for one am happy with this release by one of my all time favourite bands. While it is not perfect, it managed to win me over.