About Eluveitie

Chrigel Glanzmann founded Eluveitie, a Swiss folk metal band from Winterthur, Zürich, in 2002. Glanzmann released the project’s first demo, Vên, in 2003. The band released a full-length album, Spirit, in June 2006. Nuclear Blast signed Eluveitie in November 2007, and the group released their first major-label album, “Slania.” Additionally, “Slania” peaked at number 35 in the Swiss charts and number 72 in the German charts.

Eluveitie’s style combines melodic death metal with traditional Celtic music, featuring instruments such as the hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes, guitars, and both clean and harsh vocals. Their lyrics reference Celtic mythology, particularly of Celtic Gaul, often in a reconstructed form of the extinct ancient language Gaulish.

The band takes its name from graffiti on a vessel from Mantua (c. 300 BC), where the inscription in Etruscan letters reads eluveitie, which has been interpreted as the Etruscan form of the Celtic *(h)elvetios (“the Helvetian”), presumably referring to a man of Helvetian descent living in Mantua.

About Týr

Týr (Faroese: [tʰʊɪːɹ]) is a Faroese folk metal band. Authorities believe they are one of “the islands’ two most successful metal bands.” Moreover, their subject matter revolves almost entirely around Viking lore, mythology, and history. The band takes their name from Týr, the god of war in Norse religion. Before Týr, Heri Joensen and Gunnar H. Thomsen formed their first band, Cruiser, at the age of 17. Streymoy also played with them for a short while. They later changed their name to Wolfgang.

“Týr” formed in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1998. Heri Joensen met his old bandmate, Kári Streymoy, at a party in January in Copenhagen. Joensen suggested to Streymoy that they should meet up and jam. Streymoy initially declined, but later took him up on his offer. They were soon joined by another former bandmate, bassist Gunnar H. Thomsen, expanding the duo into a trio. In 2001, guitarist Terji Skibenæs joined the band.

The band has been accused of promoting Nazi ideologies through their use of runes and other imagery appropriated by Nazis. The band responded to these accusations with the song “Shadow of the Swastika” on the album “Lay of Thrym” (2011). The reference is the assessment of Karl Spracklen, “attacks the far-right for appropriating…heathen symbols and images associated with pre-Christian northern Europe.”

About Metsatöll

Metsatöll, an Estonian heavy metal band, formed in 1999. The band’s name comes from the Estonian words for “forest” and “four-legged being,” which is used as a euphemism for “wolf” or “werewolf” in Western Estonia. Additionally, the band draws influence from various musical groups, including folk units Garmarna, Stille Volk, and Estonian folk/classical music composer Veljo Tormis. The band bases their music, which features traditional Estonian instruments, on the wars for independence of the 13th and 14th centuries.

In 1999, Markus (vocals and guitar), Factor (drums), and Andrus (bass) formed Metsatöll. They released their debut album, “Terast mis hangund me hinge” (“Steel frozen in our souls”), at that time. In late 2004, they released their second album, “Hiiekoda” (My Home, My Sacred Grove). The album received critical acclaim from metal and non-metal fans across Estonia. The album is a heavy metal album strongly combined with old Estonian traditional instruments.

In 2005, Metsatöll released a remake of their old album, “Terast mis hangund me hinge,” called “Terast mis hangunud me hinge 10218,” with the number representing the world’s age according to Estonian chronology. The album is more influenced by folk music and is done in a more professional way overall. They also released a live album called “Lahinguväljal näeme, raisk!” (See you on the battlefield, sod/bastard!).

In 2009, Metsatöll signed with the Finnish record label Spinefarm Records and released a new album, “Äio.” Moreover, they released an internet single, along with a video to a song from the album called “Vaid Vaprust.” The song used fragments of the 1980 animated film “Suur Tõll” by Jüri Arrak. In 2011, Metsatöll released another album called “Ulg,” and the first song released was “Kivine Maa,” with a video made for “Küü.” Critics nominated the album for the Estonian Music Awards in the “Metal Album of the Year” category.

In 2012, Metsatöll played on the main stage of the Tuska Open Air Metal Festival in Helsinki. Furthermore they later released a concert album called “Tuska” from the same performance.