It’s not every day you see an official hurdy gurdy playthrough for a bangin’ metal song, so when we heard that Eluveitie‘s own Michalina Malisz was about to drop this one-of-a-kind playthrough for their song “Deathwalker”, we knew we had something special on our hands. The song comes courtesy of the band’s latest album Ategnatos which is out now on Nuclear Blast, and features Michalina absolutely tearing it up on the hurdy gurdy. Check it!
If you’re not familiar with this instrument, picture the sickest possible combination of a violin, piano, and bagpipes. The melodies are played on a keyboard, and the sound is produced by a hand crank-turned wheel that rubs against strings which run the length of the instrument. It’s pretty fascinating to watch, the sound produced is quite beautiful, and it’s surprising to hear just how well it fits into this folk metal song. The sound itself is very akin to that of a violin, which a few metal bands have employed in their sound before, but Michalina just takes it to a whole new level.
About the song and her playing, here’s what Michalina had to say:
“I’ve played the hurdy gurdy for 5 years and using it in metal music is what I’m all about. Being able to do it as my job falls probably to the same category as winning a lottery, so I’m very thankful for it and excited about it! Here is a play though of “Deathwalker”, one of my favorite songs from “Ategnatos” with an epic hurdy line. It was a lot of fun to record it, I hope you’ll enjoy it as well!”
Be sure to pick up Ategnatos here, and don’t forget to check out their upcoming North American tour dates below:
Sept 19 – Tampa, FL – The Orpheum
Sept 20 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
Sept 21 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
Sept 22 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
Sept 23 – Austin, TX – Come And Take It Live!
Sept 24 – Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Bar & Grill
Sept 26 – Mesa, AZ – Club Red
Sept 27 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent
Sept 28 – Oakland, CA – Metro
Sept 29 – Portland, OR – Bossanova Ballroom
Sept 30 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theater
Oct 1 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon
Oct 3 – Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall
Oct 4 – Lincoln, NE – Royal Grove
Oct 5 – Minneapolis, MN – Cabooze
Oct 6 – Chicago, IL – Concord Music Hall
Oct 7 – Toronto, ON – The Opera House
Oct 8 – Ottawa, ON – Brass Monkey
Oct 9 – Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
Oct 10 – Quebec City, QC – Imperial Bell
Oct 11 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
Oct 12 – Reading, PA – Reverb
Oct 13 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
Oct 14 – New York, NY – PlayStation Theatre
