Chrigel Glanzmann (Eluveitie) – “Folking Metal”!

Posted on December 9, 2015 by walladmin

Cheese fondue, Lindt chocolate and beautiful majestic alps – what else could the country of Switzerland have to offer? Why not throw in pioneers of the Folk Metal genre? Having formed in 2002, Eluveitie have released seven studio albums with heavy works going into the eighth. Ahead of their upcoming Australian tour, vocalist Chrigel Glanzmann took a moment to discuss some elements of the band.

Glanzmann is also an instrumentalist as well as vocals, keeping busy by playing the mandola, whistles, pipes, gaita, acoustic guitar, bodhran (breathe) and harp as well; quite impressive. The front man had just come off stage in Norway from a decent two hour set with the Scandinavians. Eluveitie have engaged with Australia before in an east coast tour during 2013 and the band are excited to be back having released a couple of releases since then, including their most successful record to date, Origins.

“I would have to say [that] our shows in Australia were pretty much like our shows anywhere in the world which is actually a beautiful thing” the singer mentions – “because it kind of shows how much we are able to unite people; metal heads are the same anywhere on the planet.”
Glanzmann describes Australia as a mixture of Switzerland and America, a truly interesting combination. With a few instruments under his belt, it is impressive that the band are planning to play a two hour set at each Australian show.

“We played an extended set in America and there were people that thought we should bring that to Australia as well” Glanzmann mentions. “Basically a really long set of at least two hours or something would be great so we could cover our complete discography, that would be fun I think.”

Like metal and alternative bands around the world, particularly in Australia, Glanzmann empathises with the difficulties in marketing such a niche genre of music around Switzerland. “It was hard for us at first but I think these days we are [considered] kind of mainstream but it’s actually very hard to gain exposure in Switzerland.

“The only way media seem to get interested in artists is when they find out that this artist has become successful in America which really is completely retarded.”

The front man admits that he was never a folk metal fan growing up, making it an interesting musical outcome. “I actually hated folk metal, it was never a genre that I’ve ever had any interest in.” Glanzmann was a part of heavier bands prior to starting Eluveitie. “I’ve been playing death metal for over thirteen years” he states – “but I always kind of wanted to combine these instruments with metal so basically it became this big idea that we had no real idea about (the vocalist laughs).”

If Australian fans are wondering what to expect with Eluveitie’s upcoming tour, Glanzmann says “We are preparing quite an extended show for Australia and we’ll try to make each show so memorable show by including our complete discography and also an acoustic session that may be heard on our new album.”

You can find all the upcoming Australian Tour details inlcuding ticket links and dates here.