Review by Carl on August 2, 2023.

It may be slamming death metal completely by the book, but I'd be a dirty liar if I went around saying that I don't like this.

From the logo, layout and the artwork, there are no prizes for guessing in which domain Cercenatory operates. Brutal death metal, with gutturals that sound as if coming from the bottom of a slimy well, as well as slamming sections alternating with savage blast beat driven upheaval, you've heard this before. Bands such as Devourment, Defleshed and Gutted and Devour The Unborn helped write the book on the style, and these guys almost follow it letter by letter. Is that a bad thing, you might ask? Well no, because this style is one of those I prefer as pure as possible. I do not need uber-technical Marty Friedman style leads, psychedelic interludes or marimba solo's in my brutal slamming death, just a right old pummeling. And a pummeling is what they provide. The slams are crushing, the gutturals undecipherable and the fast parts down-tuned and chaotic in an awesome way. By the insertion of some death metal guitar leads, the band actually manages to insert some identity of their own here. And these are the good kind of leads, Marty Friedman isn't seen or heard anywhere near. Which is nice.

What isn't nice, is that we are confronted with a cliché of brutal death I'm not that frisky for, and that is the inclusion of pointless spoken word samples. Here it's just another instance where they fill up space and add little to nothing to the whole, and as in most cases, it does cause some annoyance here. Another thing that caused annoyance is the paint can sound of the snare drum, veering dangerously close to the dreaded "St Anger" snare. It's not as annoying as that, but it still needed some getting used to on my part.

As a closer I'd like to point out that the production is more on the raw side than that of most of their brethren, which I actually like a lot. It's not as oppressive and over-produced as other bands in the genre, which makes it sound all the more brutal and violent, in my opinion. The fact that the overall sound mix is somewhat off-balance actually adds to the chaotic atmosphere Cercenatory exudes in the faster parts, which sounds great, to be honest. One thing that could've been more in the background is that paint can snare, though. Other than that, great stuff!

There you have it, brutal slamming death mostly played by the book, yet with some touches one doesn't expect, and a raw and violent production that gives it a somewhat demented edge that suits them fine. This should not fail to please the brutal death metal hound out there, for sure.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Carl on August 2, 2023.

It may be slamming death metal completely by the book, but I'd be a dirty liar if I went around saying that I don't like this.

From the logo, layout and the artwork, there are no prizes for guessing in which domain Cercenatory operates. Brutal death metal, with gutturals that sound as if coming from the bottom of a slimy well, as well as slamming sections alternating with savage blast beat driven upheaval, you've heard this before. Bands such as Devourment, Defleshed and Gutted and Devour The Unborn helped write the book on the style, and these guys almost follow it letter by letter. Is that a bad thing, you might ask? Well no, because this style is one of those I prefer as pure as possible. I do not need uber-technical Marty Friedman style leads, psychedelic interludes or marimba solo's in my brutal slamming death, just a right old pummeling. And a pummeling is what they provide. The slams are crushing, the gutturals undecipherable and the fast parts down-tuned and chaotic in an awesome way. By the insertion of some death metal guitar leads, the band actually manages to insert some identity of their own here. And these are the good kind of leads, Marty Friedman isn't seen or heard anywhere near. Which is nice.

What isn't nice, is that we are confronted with a cliché of brutal death I'm not that frisky for, and that is the inclusion of pointless spoken word samples. Here it's just another instance where they fill up space and add little to nothing to the whole, and as in most cases, it does cause some annoyance here. Another thing that caused annoyance is the paint can sound of the snare drum, veering dangerously close to the dreaded "St Anger" snare. It's not as annoying as that, but it still needed some getting used to on my part.

As a closer I'd like to point out that the production is more on the raw side than that of most of their brethren, which I actually like a lot. It's not as oppressive and over-produced as other bands in the genre, which makes it sound all the more brutal and violent, in my opinion. The fact that the overall sound mix is somewhat off-balance actually adds to the chaotic atmosphere Cercenatory exudes in the faster parts, which sounds great, to be honest. One thing that could've been more in the background is that paint can snare, though. Other than that, great stuff!

There you have it, brutal slamming death mostly played by the book, yet with some touches one doesn't expect, and a raw and violent production that gives it a somewhat demented edge that suits them fine. This should not fail to please the brutal death metal hound out there, for sure.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Jeger on March 23, 2025.

Eluveitie? Okay, imagine if James Cameron kidnapped some poor folk metal band and forced them to make an album that sounds the way Avatar looks, but with all the crazy sensationalized Celtic folk you can handle. The band consists of about 37 people! And the music is about as rich and elaborate as it gets. Within the scope of everything Eluveitie does, you'll discover influences rooted in melodic death and folk metals, but teeming with Nightwish level epic cheese. At the end of the day, Eluveitie is a mainstream metal band, so their material must be explored with that reality in mind. Most of these bands have worked hard to earn a roster position with a label such as Nuclear Blast, and they haven't made it this far just to reduce themselves to recording on basement equipment like an underground black metal band. This is the big leagues, kids, so excuse me while I dumb myself down enough to review this mainstream metal record… On April 25, Eluveitie will release Ànv via Nuclear Blast.

A dozen tracks, no compromise and engineered for cinema. Imagine Wolfheart but with fiddles, flutes and dreamlike female cleans. And what am I going to do with all this melody? And all of this brutality? "The Prodigal Ones" - a dual-sided journey where both are explored equally: gargantuan riffs, tyrannical rhythms, Omnium Gatherum-like keyboard passages and Scar Symmetry-worshipping melodic sequences. But it's all so plastic, and for the most part, it's all been done before. Not even the stunning titular track with all of its drama can save this one. Tracks like "Premonition" are more like it, but even as it kicks off with such ferocity, it's not long before it gets diluted by superficial Riverdance-reveling Celtic folk travesties and more of those cleans that have already worn out their welcome. Metal for people who love Titanic is what this is…

Extraordinary talent on all phases here, but frankly, Eluveitie just butcher Celtic folk. What's supposed to be stripped-down and earthy is just this sanitized abomination. The acoustic interlude, "Anamcara", sees Eluveitie in the throes of Paganism. Another highly dramatic affair. This one details the restoration of Nature by the Gods. Keep it simple, children! This is just a melodic death/folk metal salad. "The Harvest" is a unique cut in comparison to the rest: no cleans, balanced and modest. Then we're back to dancing jigs and guzzling brown ale as "Memories Of Innocence" plays. I REALLY dig this one. The fiddles, the guitar and the rhythm are enough to make you wanna get up and do a little Riverdancing of your own. Don't hurt yourself, champ…

When it comes to extreme metal that conceptualizes Celtic mythology, I think I'll stick with Absu… "Aeon Of The Crescent Moon" is sounding pretty sweet though. They always start off sweet, but it's like that chick that looks hot from a distance, but grows ever-more-busted as you get closer. Great fiddle work during this track, best of the entire album.

People listen to Eluveitie and believe that they're taking in some real culture… That's because they are unfamiliar with the magic that takes place underground. This music is manufactured and not created with any real sense of culture/ethos. A box office smash! Unfortunately, I'm more of a Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny kind of guy… People pay money to watch Transformers and those same people will love this album. Dream Theater nerds will be all over it as well, but any seasoned enthusiast who's been exposed to true folk-inspired metal will admonish it right away. Nokturnal Mortum anyone? Ah, much better…

Rating: 6 out of 10