Video Production: Alan Daly and Olga Kuzmenko
Feature Image Pic: © Olga Kuzmenko Photography
Eluveitie were the final band to play at Bloodstock 2019, performing on the Sophie stage after Scorpions wrapped up their headline show on the Main Stage. It’s their second time playing at Bloodstock.
Eluveitie describe themselves as “the new wave of folk metal”. The band’s style incorporates characteristics of melodic death metal combined with the melodies of traditional Celtic music. They use traditional European instruments, including the hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes, amidst guitars and both clean and harsh vocals. Their lyrics include references to Celtic mythology, particularly of Celtic Gaul. The lyrics are often in a reconstructed form of the extinct ancient language Gaulish. The name of the band comes from graffiti on a vessel from Mantua (c. 300 BC)
The traditional folk tunes in their songs have been drawn from various sources, including traditional Irish reels. While many of their lyrics are in English, some are in the ancient extinct Gaulish language. In some instances, the two languages are intertwined throughout a song. Their lyrics are based on texts written in Gaulish such as prayers, invocations of the gods and other spirits.