Ithilien | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Brussels, Belgium |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels |
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| Members | Pierre Ithilien Benjamin Delbar Jerry Winkelmans Tuur Soete Sabrina Gelin Myrna Mens Hugo Bailly |
| Website | www |
Ithilien is a Belgian folk metal band from Brussels using traditional folk instruments such as a hurdy gurdy, a bagpipe, a violin, a nyckelharpa, flutes and a bouzouki. They combine elements of metal (death/metalcore) and traditional folk music.
Ithilien was formed in 2005 by Pierre Ithilien in Brussels. The name of the band means "Country of the Moon" in Sindarin, language constructed by the writer J. R. R. Tolkien. However, none of the contents of the songs, concepts and themes of the albums are related to the universe of The Lord of the Rings. [1]
It was in 2011 that the band recorded its first official EP Tribute to the Fallen and the single "Endless Horizons". [2] At that time, the style of the band was mainly melodic-death metal, although some folk aspects in the melodies were emerging. [3]
Thereafter other members joined the guitarist/singer Pierre (the only remaining original member) : Benjamin Delbar in 2011, Jerry Winkelmans, Olivier Bogaert and finally Geoffroy Dell'Aria in 2012 (which through its instruments brought the folk sounds that are characteristic to Ithilien today). At that moment, they had a solid team ready to compose their first album. [4]
It is in 2012 that Ithilien established a stable line-up allowing the band to start from scratch and keep only its original name. On December 9, 2013, they released their first album From Ashes to the Frozen Land, signed with the Danish label Mighty Music and distributed throw Europe with Target Group. [5]
The album is composed of songs that, one after the other, follows a storyline. The band describes this new opus as "One hour of a musical atmospheric journey of black, death and pagan metal describing all together a fantastic and epic story [6] ". This album evokes above all the strong emotions that men can feel during difficult moments, hereby addressing subjects such as loss, rebirth or perseverance. [7]
Ithilien distinguishes itself from other metal bands by the presence of real folk instruments on stage as well as their albums recordings, but also by what the musicians wear live, resolutely of Viking inspiration (armor of leather, skins of beasts, make-up warriors, etc.). [8]
Over time, other members were added such as Hugo Bailly to the bagpipes and Sabrina Gelin to the hurdy-gurdy, both in 2014. An even more privileged place is then made to the folkloric instruments within the band. [9]
After being selected as one of the winners of the Loud Circuit contest, the band had the opportunity to play at the Botanique in Brussels in 2013. [10] Ithilien played more than 80 concerts worldwide, including tours with the Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie, in Europe and Japan, and the Icelandic Viking/folk metal band Skálmöld [11] in Europe.
In March 2016, the band released the song "Edelweiss" and announced their next album, Shaping the Soul. [12] This new release is accompanied with a new collaboration with the Italian label WormHoleDeath.
In 2016, Olivier Bogaert and Geoffroy Dell'Aria left the band.
The first official music video from the album, "Blindfolded", appeared on January 9, 2017, showing the new line-up, completed with violinist Myrna Mens and guitarist Tuur Soete.
On February 17, 2017, Shaping the Soul was released in Europe followed by the other continents. [13] Tour dates were then planned in various Belgian cities [14] and abroad with the dutch folk metal act Heidevolk, but also with Ensiferum, Skyclad and many others. [15]
The concept of this new opus is about the grief process. "It is through loss and pain that our soul is being shaped." According to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the mourning process is usually theorized in 5 stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. It is these steps that form the red line of Ithilien's album. [16]
Visually speaking, in 2016 the band abandoned the stage fantasy costumes to return to more conventional modern clothing. [8]
At the beginning, Ithilien offers an epic mix between black and death, all influenced by traditional folk Celtic and Nordic music. This combination led to melodic folk metal. [17]
It is in 2017, with the album Shaping the Soul, that the band evolves towards a style called "folkcore". It is a close combination of traditional folk music (played by Flemish bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, tin and low whistles, violin, nykelharpa and bouzouki), and a more modern touch of metal using distorted vocals and heavy electric guitars riffs (death metal, metalcore). [18]
Timeline
Medieval metal is a subgenre of folk metal that blends heavy metal music with medieval folk music. Medieval metal is mostly restricted to Germany where it is known as Mittelalter-Metal or Mittelalter-Rock. The genre emerged from the middle of the 1990s with contributions from Subway to Sally, In Extremo and Schandmaul. The style is characterised by the prominent use of a wide variety of traditional folk and medieval instruments.
Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles. It also sometimes features soft instrumentation influenced by folk rock.
In Extremo is a German Medieval metal band originating from Berlin. The band's musical style combines metal with Medieval traditional songs, blending the sound of the standard rock/metal instruments with historical instruments. Versions of well-known traditional/Medieval ballads make up the main part of their repertoire, but the band has written an increasing share of original material in recent years. Their own material is written in German, whilst the traditional songs and cover songs are in a variety of languages.
Malicorne are a French folk and folk rock band formed in September 1973 by Gabriel Yacoub, Marie Yacoub, Hughes de Courson and Laurent Vercambre. They flourished in the 1970s, broke up three times in the 1980s but re-formed twice in the early 2010s and toured from July 2012 until their last show in August 2017, after which they broke up.
Stille Volk is a folk band from the Pyrenees area of France. The band formed in 1994, and draws inspiration from Celtic and medieval music.
La Musgaña is a Spanish folk music ensemble, founded in 1986 by Enrique Almendros, José María Climent and Rafa Martin. The band incorporates various instruments such as the salterio, fiddle, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, flutes, guitar and bass, and performs traditional music from the Iberian peninsula, mostly from the Spanish regions of Castile, Zamora, Leon, Extremadura and La Mancha. La Musgaña means "water-rat" in Spanish.
Omnia is a self-described "neoceltic pagan folk" band based in the Netherlands, whose members over the years have had Irish, Dutch, Cornish, Belgian, Indonesian, and Persian backgrounds. Their music takes the form of various cultural routes, from places such as Ireland, England, Cornwall, and Iran. The name of the band is a Latin word that means "everything".
Blowzabella is an English folk band formed in London in 1978. The band currently consists of Andy Cutting, Jo Freya, Paul James, David Shepherd, Barn Stradling, and Jon Swayne; members of the band have changed multiple times since their inception, with Jon Swayne being the only remaining original band member. It is estimated that Blowzabella musicians played between 26 and 32 instruments in total, which include bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, diatonic button accordion, alto sax, and triangle. Their music is heavily influenced by English and European traditional folk music, and has inspired a variety of European folk bands with their unique style and sound. Many European folk artists attribute Blowzabella as a major influence in their music.
Faun is a German band that was formed in 1998 and plays pagan folk, darkwave, and medieval music. The originality of their music style is that it falls back to "old" instruments, and the singing is always the center of attention. The vocals are performed in a variety of languages, including German, English, Latin, Greek, and Scandinavian languages. Their instruments include Celtic harp, Swedish nyckelharpa, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, cittern, flutes, and many others.
Berrogüetto was a folk band from Galicia, formed in the spring of 1995. They were signed to BOA records and released their first album Navicularia in 1996, going on to receive various awards.
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.
Everything Remains (As It Never Was) is the fourth studio album by Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie. The album was produced by Colin Richardson, and released on 19 February 2010 through Nuclear Blast.
Fejd is a Swedish folk band formed in 2001.
Helvetios is the fifth studio album by Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie. The album was released 10 February 2012 through Nuclear Blast. The CD was recorded at New Sound Studio in Pfäffikon, a municipality in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland, with producer Tommy Vetterli. It was the last album to include violinist Meri Tadić and guitarist Simeon Koch.
Terra Celta is a Brazilian Celtic comedy rock band formed in 2005, and based in Londrina, Paraná. They are noted for making Celtic rock in Portuguese language, with often humorous lyrics. The group performs live with traditional Celtic/Irish clothing. Besides performing Irish music, the members also research the subject, by attending Celtic music festivals in Europe.
Evocation II: Pantheon is the seventh studio album by Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie. The album was released on 18 August 2017 through Nuclear Blast. It was the first album to include Matteo Sisti, Michalina Malisz, Alain Ackermann, Jonas Wolf and Fabienne Erni as band members.
Kadril is a Belgian folk group formed in 1976 from the then youth and nature movement Wielewaaljongeren. The group name refers to the salon dance Quadrille, transliterated into Flemish as Kwadril or Kadril.
Storm Seeker is a German pirate-folk-metal band from Düsseldorf and Neuss. It was founded by the brothers Marius and Timo Bornfleth.
Arms of Morpheus is the third studio album by the Dutch progressive metal band Kingfisher Sky. The album was originally released on the 24th of October, 2014 and peaked at #31 on the Netherlands album charts the week after its release. The funding for the album was obtained via an online crowdfunding campaign, which successfully raised enough money to get the album released.
The Living and the Dead is the ninth studio album by Irish folk metal band Cruachan. The album was released on 24 March 2023 through Despotz Records.
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