Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion

Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion is the third studio album by Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie. It was released on 17 April 2009 through Nuclear Blast. Contrary to their previous works, this album is almost entirely acoustic. The vocals are primarily handled by hurdy-gurdy player Anna Murphy. The album cover represents Cernunnos, a Celtic deity of nature. The lyrics are partly based on Gaulish inscriptions, e.g. "A Girl's Oath" uses the text of the Larzac tablet, and "Dessumiis Luge" that of the Chamalières tablet.

Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion
Studio album by
Released17 April 2009
RecordedDecember 2008
GenreAcoustic rock, folk rock, Celtic rock
Length50:24
LanguageGaulish
LabelNuclear Blast
Eluveitie studio album chronology
Slania
(2008)
Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion
(2009)
Everything Remains (As It Never Was)
(2010)
Singles from Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion
  1. "Omnos"
    Released: 28 April 2009
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Metal Hammer[2]
metal.de[3]

Background

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Vocalist Chrigel Glanzmann has said about the album:

"As Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion is a concept album setting pure gaulish mythology into music, we also wanted the artwork to be in the same line. Kernunnos is one of the most important and central characters in celtic mythology, so we conceived a topical portrayal of that figure, representing the ancient mythological content of Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion, as well as its musical character."[4]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sacrapos - At First Glance"Anna Murphy2:01
2."Brictom"
4:22
3."A Girl's Oath"Murphy1:18
4."The Arcane Dominion"trad.5:43
5."Within the Grove"trad.1:52
6."The Cauldron of Renascence"Glanzmann2:05
7."Nata"
  • trad.
  • Glanzmann
4:02
8."Omnos"Glanzmann3:48
9."Carnutian Forest"
  • trad.
  • Glanzmann
3:17
10."Dessumiis Luge"
  • Murphy
  • Meri Tadić
3:28
11."Gobanno"trad.3:15
12."Voveso in Mori"
  • Glanzmann
  • Murphy
4:09
13."Memento"
  • Efrén López
  • Päde Kistler
3:20
14."Ne Regv Na"
  • Glanzmann
  • Murphy
5:07
15."Sacrapos - The Disparaging Last Gaze"Murphy2:43
Total length:50:24
Limited edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
16."Slania" (Folk medley)1:53
17."Omnos" (Early metal version)3:49
Total length:56:06
Live at Summer Breeze 2008 DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Inis Mona" 
2."Grey Sublime Archon" 
3."Of Fire, Wind & Wisdom" 
4."Bloodstained Ground" 
5."Slania's Song" 
6."The Somber Lay" 
7."Your Gaulish War" 
8."AnDro" 
9."Tegernakô" 
Total length:47:09

Credits

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  • Chrigel Glanzmann – tin and low whistles, mandola, mandolin, uilleann pipes, bodhrán, vocals
  • Anna Murphy – hurdy-gurdy, flute, lead vocals
  • Ivo Henzi – acoustic guitars
  • Päde Kistler – tin and low whistles, Scottish highland pipe, redpipe
  • Meri Tadić – fiddle, vocals
  • Kay Brem – acoustic and fretless bass
  • Sime Koch – acoustic guitars
  • Merlin Sutter – drums, percussion
Guest musicians[4]
  • Freddy Schnyder - hammered dulcimer on "Within the Grove" and "Gobanno"
  • Mina The Fiddler - 5-stringed viola on "Within the Grove" and "Gobanno"
  • Oliver s. Tyr - longnecked lute on "The Arcane Dominion"
  • Alan Nemtheanga - additional voice and vocals "Sacrapos- At First Glance" and "Nata"
  • Sarah Wauquiez - zugerörgeli on "Gobanno"
Production
  • Arranged by Eluveitie
  • Engineered by Chrigel Glanzmann and Merlin Sutter
  • Mixed in January 2009 at Finnvox Studios, Helsinki, Finland by Arto Tuunela of Major Label
  • Mastered in January 2009 at Finnvox Studios, Helsinki, Finland by Mika Jussila
  • Produced by Arto Tuunela and Eluveitie

The drums, guitars, bass, bagpipes, fiddle, hurdy-gurdy, flute, percussion, and vocals were recorded in December 2008 at Devils Studio, Vaduz/Liechtenstein. These recordings were engineered by Merlin Sutter. The tin whistles, low whistles, mandola, mandolin, bodhran, hammered dulcimer, 5-stringed viola, zugerörgeli, and sound effects were recorded in December 2008 in Illnau Switzerland. These recordings were engineered by Chrigel Glanzmann.[citation needed]

Chart performance

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Chart
  • Peak
  • position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[5] 60
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[6] 20
French Albums (SNEP)[7] 195

References

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  1. ^ Freeman, Phil. "Review: Evocation I – The Arcane Dominion". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  2. ^ Bösch, Simone. "Eluveitie EVOCATION I – THE ARCANE DOMINION Review". Metal Hammer (in German).
  3. ^ "ELUVEITIE - Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion". metal.de (in German). 3 April 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Eluveitie MySpace Blog". Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  5. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Eluveitie – Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  6. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Eluveitie – Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  7. ^ "Lescharts.com – Eluveitie – Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2018.