Eluveitie - Ategnatos

Just two years after their previous effort that followed theis major overhaul, the once again retooled Eluveitie return with an hour of new material. Having built their name on the metallic Celtic folk they play, Ategnatos is a slight departure from the norm for them. The band have always had their metallic roots in powerful, anthemic melodic death metal, but this time around the Celtic folk elements they work in take a back seat to the most blatant Amon Amarth imitation of the band’s career so far. Again, they’ve always channeled their folky tendencies through that style of metal and warranted comparisons to Amon Amarth along the way, but this time it’s so much more upfront and unsupplemented with the band’s usual Celtic flair that it becomes distracting. I’m not of the mindset that bands should steer clear of a style just because if I want some certain style I’ll go to a band that specializes in it. Likewise, I won’t deny Eluveitie the right to make folk-themed melodic death metal just because I would more often go to a band like Amon Amarth for it. They can emulate Amon Amarth all they want; the problem is that they’re not even coming close to challenging Amon Amarth in their field that they’ve stepped into, and the hour of material clings for dear life to the little uniqueness the folk elements and vocal trade-offs bring in. Sure, it hits some heavy points, but none of them are ever unique enough to be intriguing or committed enough to be invigorating, so it just comes out already stale and dependent on a facet of the band’s sound that has been subdued. In theory I think I would enjoy a heavier album from Eluveitie, but evidently it’s not something that came out well in practice. The thing honestly is a chore to listen to by the end of it just for how homogeneous it is, and by the end of it, despite my multiple listens through, Ategnatos gives little to nothing to be remembered by.
Go clean your room Bucko/10

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