Catuvolcus is a Canadian

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

band from

Warwick, Quebec Warwick is a small town north east of Montreal, located in Arthabaska Regional County Municipality, Arthabaska county, Quebec, Canada. The town was incorporated in 1861 and named after Warwick, the town of the same name in England. Up until 2014 ...

. They combine elements of

folk metal 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 (for example ...

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

and

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

. Catuvolcus' lyrics are mostly in French. According to Plessix, they took their name in reference to

Catuvolcus Cativolcus or Catuvolcus (died 53 BC) was king of half of the country of the Eburones, a people between the Meuse and Rhine rivers, united with Ambiorix, the other king, in the insurrection against the Romans in 54 BC; but when Julius Caesar in t ...

, the king of half of the country of the

Eburones The Eburones ( Greek: ) were a Gaulish- Germanic tribe dwelling in the northeast of Gaul, who lived north of the Ardennes in the region near what is now the southern Netherlands, eastern Belgium and the German Rhineland, in the period immediately ...

, a people between the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

and

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

rivers, who united with

Ambiorix Ambiorix (Gaulish "king of the surroundings", or "king-protector") ( 54–53 BC) was, together with Cativolcus, prince of the Eburones, leader of a Belgic tribe of north-eastern Gaul (Gallia Belgica), where modern Belgium is located. In the ...

, the other king, in the insurrection against the Romans in 54 BC. Catuvolcus' lyrics mainly deal with historical events of the Roman invasion in

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

Formation and history

Catuvolcus was formed in

, in 2007 by Pierre-Alexandre Plessix. The one-man band released the first Catuvolcus demo, ''Old Rituals for Camulos'', in 2008, later expanding to a quartet for 2009 concerts. That May, the band released their first full-length album, ''Vae Victis''. The band returned as a one-man band at the beginning of 2010. That August Maxime Côté and Matrak Tveskag joined the band as full members. The second Catuvolcus production, ''Terres de Sang'', was released at the end of 2010. ''Metal Call Out's'' critic J. Deathscript wrote, "''Terres de Sang'' is a perfect example of everything that is RIGHT with the modern black metal scene", while ''Metal Storm'' described the band as "obviously well trained in the art of mind reading as well – in each song just as you're about to think to yourself 'Ok, enough blast beats' they bring out some outrageously epic sounding melody or acoustic guitar segment." In 2011, they recorded their third album, ''Gergovia'', featuring members of

Daylight Dies Daylight Dies is a melodic death-doom band from North Carolina, United States. History Daylight Dies was formed in 1996 by Barre Gambling and Jesse Haff. In 1999, the two recorded the band's first demo, ''The Long Forgotten Demo''. In 2000, G ...

and Gallowbraid, and released in 2012. The reviewer at ''Chronicles of Chaos'' gave it 8 out of 10, describing it as "both exhilarating and enjoyable."Dan Lake
"Catuvolcus – _Gergovia_"
''Chronicle of Chaos'', July 1, 2012. In 2012, Catuvolcus signed to a new

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

-based label, Deathbound Records, which released the album worldwide in physical and digital formats. ''Gergovia'' is known as the first concept album from Catuvolcus, featuring the 12-minute song "Litaviccos", described by ''Infernal Masquerade'' as "a text-book example for bands to come". The entire album is about the

Battle of Gergovia The Battle of Gergovia took place in 52 BC in Gaul at Gergovia, the chief oppidum (fortified town) of the Arverni. The battle was fought between a Roman Republican army, led by proconsul Julius Caesar, and Gallic forces led by Vercingetorix ...

, which happened in 52 BC. In July 2012 the band recorded a

Woods of Ypres Woods of Ypres was a Canadian doom metal band from Windsor, Ontario. The band was founded in 2002, initially consisting of three members: David Gold, Aaron Palmer and Brian McManus. Their line-up frequently changed afterward, with over 20 memb ...

' cover for a tribute album dedicated to Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold entitled ''A Heart Of Gold: Tribute To Woods Of Ypres''. Catuvolcus joined Hymnes d'Antan, a Quebec-based label, to re-release their sold-out record ''Terres de Sang''. The new edition was released on February 26, 2013, along with the band's first lyric video, for the song "Vercingétorix"."Vercingétorix"
Catuvolcus official YouTube channel Catuvolcus' lineups had been noticeably unstable since their beginning, with only Plessix participating on every release by the band. Matrak Tveskaeg left the band in early 2012. In early 2013, the band announced Etienne Gallo and Dominic Forest Lapointe from

Augury Augury was a Greco- Roman religious practice of observing the behavior of birds, to receive omens. When the individual, known as the augur, read these signs, it was referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" () means "looking at birds". ...

respectively as their drummer and bassist on the final record ''Voyageurs de l'Aube''.

Members

;Current lineup * Pierre-Alexandre Plessix — vocals, guitars, (2007–present) * Maxime Côté — lead guitar, studio bass (2010–present) * Etienne Gallo — drums (2013) * Dominic "Forest" Lapointe — bass (2013) ;Other members * Matrak Tveskaeg — bass (2010–2012)

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Vae Victis'' (2009) * ''Gergovia'' (2012) * ''Voyageurs de l'Aube'' (2013)

EPs

* ''Terres de Sang'' (2010)

Demos

* "Old Rituals for Camulos" (2008)

Videos

* "Vercingétorix" (2013) * "Gergovia" (2012) * "Terres de Sang" (2010)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups from Quebec Canadian black metal musical groups Canadian folk metal musical groups