Eluvetie, returned to the Big Apple with Tyr and Metsatöll, to fans who braved lousy weather on a week night for an evening of folk metal.

Despite it being a Wednesday night with cold rainy weather, devoted folk metal fans gathered in long lines outside Irving Plaza hours before the doors opened. The show marked the finale of US leg of Eluvetie’s Origins World Tour. It has been about two years since Eluveitie graced the NYC stage. On December 20 2012, they co-headlined with Wintersun and performed to a sold out show at the Gramercy Theater. This time around Eluveitie returned to promote their sixth studio album, Origins.

Metsatöll opened the show with a 10 song set. The band hails from Estonia, and their music features flutes, torupill, and other traditional instruments. They band has been around since 1999 and just released their 13th studio album, Karjajuht, on Spinefarm records.

The band performed songs from the their new album, as well as crowd pleasers “Kuu,” “Kivine Maa,” and “Muhu Oud” from their album, Ulg. Their intensity was contagious. Metsatöll had fans chanting and dancing along to their music.

All of their music was performed in their native Estonian. but there was no language barrier as the crowd highly enjoyed their performance. Many fans have expressed this is one of the reasons that makes them so unique, that being the fact they have not compromised their music for a more commercial route the way some bands in this genre did. Folklore, traditional instruments and diverse languages that reflect the history and the lyrical content makes it more unique and in many ways more believable.

Metsatöllset the tone for the night and many fans in the audience felt that this band is deserving of a headlining spot. They just didn’t get enough time to showcase the broad range they can bring from six albums worth of material. Regardless, the crowd loved Metsatöll.

The next up was Tyr from the Faroe Islands. They tour the US often and are considered one of the more popular bands in this genre. Their seventh studio album, Valkyrja, was released last year on Metal Blade Records. They were in NYC earlier this year, most recently last Spring when they were the supporting band for Children Of Bodom. Their performances get better and stronger each time.

Tyr played fan favorites “Hold the Heathen Hammer High,” “By the Sword in my Hand,” “Flames of the Free,” along with plenty of material from the new record, Valkyrja, which pays tribute to the women of Scandinavian folklore. Their performance got the crowd hyped and excited for what was to come.

Eluveitie headlined the show. They are an eight-piece band from Winterthur, Zurich, founded by frontman Chrigel Glanzmann. Formed in 2002, they have since released six studio albums. Their current release, Origins on Nuclear Blast Records, has received wide acclaim from both fans and critics. They charted number one in their native Switzerland and broke through US charts as well.

Leading up to their performance, the NYC crowd was very anxious to see them. NYC has a strong dedicated folk metal community and Eluveitie is a fan favorite. Their NYC fan base includes those of us who have been fans going back more than ten years and those who have followed the band on tour traveling abroad to various festivals.

Being a Wednesday night late show with bad weather, it was wonderful to see many fans that gathered early to see Eluveitie and those that came later in the evening just to get their dose of this band. The crowd went wild to Eluveitie during their set and there was a lot of head banging. The band performed a two-hour set, doing a good mix of old and new material. The band put on a wonderful performance. Everyone could see that their hearts were really in it and Chrigel made sure to introduce the songs with short back-stories which the fans appreciated.

Eluveitie is Merlin Sutter (drums), Chrigel Glanzmann (vocals, mandola and mandolin, tin and low whistles, bagpipes, bodhràn), Anna Murphy (hurdy-gurdy, vocals, flute), Nicole Ansperger (fiddle), Ivo Henzi (guitars), Rafael Salzmann (guitars), Patrick Kistler (tin and low whistles, bagpipe), and Kay Brem (bass).

Default Gallery Type Template

This is the default gallery type template, located in:
/home/nrrmedia/public_html/sites/nrr-wp/wp-content/plugins/nextgen-gallery/products/photocrati_nextgen/modules/nextgen_gallery_display/templates/index.php.

If you're seeing this, it's because the gallery type you selected has not provided a template of it's own.

Eluveitie
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Eluveitie Setlist: King, Nil, From Darkness, Carry the Torch, Thousandfold, AnDro, Sucellos, The Call of the Mountains, Omnos, Gray Sublime Archon, The Nameless, Inception, Kingdom Come Undone, The Silver Sister, Vianna, A Rose for Epona, Quoth the Raven, Havoc; Encore: Helvetios, Inis Mona

Eluveitie Video:

About The Author

Anya was born and raised in Donestk, Ukraine, and emigrated to NYC when she was 8 years old. In her early teens she discovered Power Metal and many artists from the European metal scene. Her passion for photography grew from her concert experiences. There is nothing more exciting than capturing those small moments on stage that musicians have with their instruments. She enjoys taking photos from the crowd and is not afraid to step into mosh pit to take photos of the fans in action. Photography has influenced Anya in other ways. When she's not in the photo pit she can be found teaching preschool where photography is a big part of my daily curriculum. Photography is more than a hobby it is a passion, which allows her to combine all her interests into one.