Eluveitie part ways with Merlin Sutter, Anna Murphy and Ivo Henzi

Eluveitie pictured with Merlin Sutter, Anna Murphy and Ivo Henzi
Eluveitie pictured with Merlin Sutter, Anna Murphy and Ivo Henzi

Eluveitie have announced they’ll part ways with drummer Merlin Sutter, vocalist Anna Murphy and guitarist Ivo Henzi after next month’s Nijmegen Fortarock Festival in the Netherlands.

The band claim that conflict of interest, rising tension within the band and the “different goals, wishes and ideas” of each member caused the split – but insist they wish the best for their former bandmates.

Eluveitie say: “Over the last years we all had to deal with interpersonal challenges within the band. Instead of pulling together, our days have rather been shaped by wearing friction and constant clash of interests. And thus we felt that we have become something we shouldn’t have – that we’ve diverged from what Eluveitie was always meant to be – a band, a family, a passionate and deep-rooted group of musicians.”

They admit the band was losing its passion and “Celtic spirit”, claiming that the “painful situation” was beginning to wear the members down. They add: “We came to the point eventually, where we believe, it’s best to go separate ways.

“For us it means to seclude ourselves for a while, to take the inward turn and to recollect. We will go back to our roots and become again what we once have been.

“From our hearts we wish Merlin, Anna and Ivo only the very best for their future ways and also all the best of luck and success for all their further musical projects. For we’re sure their musical journey will go on and it will be great. And maybe our ways will even cross again in future, in a different way.”

Eluveitie will perform their final show with the trio at Nijmegen Fortarock Festival in the Netherlands on June 5. All future confirmed shows will include stand-in musicians until permanent members are recruited.

Eluveitie tour dates 2016

May 07: Basel Das Zelt Ag, Switzerland
May 13: Beijing Tango Club, China
May 14: Shanghai QSU Culture Center, China
May 15: Guangzhou Guangzhou Sculpture Park, China
May 17: Bedford Capitol, Australia
May 19: Brisbane Zoo, Australia
May 20: Camperdown Manning Bar, Australia
May 21: Melbourne Max Watts, Australia
May 22: Hindmarsh Gov, Australia
May 24: Singapore Scape, Singapore
May 26: Dhaka ICCB Hall, Bangladesh
May 28: Wanhua Jack’s Studio, Taiwan
Jun 03: Basle Rosentalanlage, Switzerland
Jun 04:Bucharest Metalhead Meetin, Romania
Jun 05: Nijmegen Fortarock, Netherlands
Jun 10: Goarshausen Rockfels Festival, Germany
Jun 23: Balatonszemes Rockpart, Hungary
Jun 24: Abenberg Feuertanz, Germany
Jul 02: Basel Das Zelt Ag, Switzerland
Jul 16: Vizovice Masters Of Rock, Czech Republic
Jul 20: Nyon Paleo Festival, Switzerland
Jul 22: Gus-Khrustalny Vladimir Oblast, Russia
Jul 29: Albi X-Treme Fest, France
Aug 04: Wacken Open Air, Germany
Aug 06: Gossnitz Open Air, Germany
Auf 20: Cieszanow Rock Festival, Poland
Aug 27: Istanbul Headbangers Weekend, Turkey
Sep 23: Basel Das Zelt Ag, Switzerland
Oct 07: Solothurn Pier11, Switzerland
Nov 05: Basel Das Zelt Ag, Switzerland
Dec 16:Giessen Messe Giessen GmbH, Germany
Dec 17:Dresden Alter Schlachthof, Germany

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.