Winds Devouring Men
[Prophecy]

A French group of classical musicians picking up from early Dead Can Dance (the de facto standard for this sort of music I suppose), Elend serves up a platter of aesthetically dark and ecclectic classical music yet again.

In the fashion of Orpheus, pieces are arranged so that a chamber orchestra can obtain a large, nearly orchestral sound (Orpheus is a technically more adept chamber orchestra of course, but that isn’t the point of Elend). Elend adds in operatic vocals with the lightly-used (not abused) synth effects to serve as a purely aesthetic touch to the music, which is fundamentally strings and piano / harpsichord / organ. This is nothing different than what Elend has previously done though.

What is different about this record is a darker and more harsh, gritty side of the band. While Elend traditionally slowly and deliberately resolves minor chords to major ones (a technique that Limbonic Art fans should recall), but now the resolutions venture to go into other minor and diminished chords - much more dark, gothic atmospheres as a result of this. Tempo-wise, the pace of songs has decreased substantially. Nobody seems to be in a rush, which allows the musicians to be more expressive and personal with each of their notes. Industrial-style synth effects and harsh guitar feedback distortion can be found interspersing a couple tracks. In combination with the darker and more foreboding themes (which are still fundamentally based in modern influences like Samuel Barber), percussions and brass come in to complete a surprisingly full-featured orchestra (that actually sound real and not synth-produced). Instrumentally, we now have: harpsichord, piano, pipe organs, string chamber set, low-end percussions (snares aren’t present), bells and cymbals, brass section (mainly low again), and a selection of harsh industrial-style synth tones.

On the vocal side, there is less operatic vocals and more of the moaning / whisper style male vocals commonly found in gothic music. So, these song formats follow less of the traditionally classical arrangement and structuring of earlier Elend (check out Weeping Winds for things more fundamental in classical). There are indeed more vocals this time than before, so those that love Elend for how they develop songs instrumentally may be a tad disappointed because the lead vocals serve as the main narrator now.

It’s possible to criticize Elend as just another Dead Can Dance rip-off, and there are indeed many things elements of Dead Can Dance transferred straight to Elend. With this album, Elend moves away from being a classical group with a dark, gothic approach to a classical group with a dark, gothic, and industrial twist. This further distinguishes Elend from Dead Can Dance, who actually never ventured into experimenting with harsh, percussive noise. Another possible criticism with this new style is that Elend sounds much more like “movie music” or “background music” than ever before. There are several moments that seem rather trite for such a capable band, but Romantic classical influences (particularly Russian I might add) and motifs haven’t disappeared. I won’t deny that the whole album could be used as a movie soundtrack, but we do have to consider that nearly all music can be used in a movie soundtrack.

For fans of dark ambient, classical, and perhaps some doom metal and ambient black metal, Elend may be just about what you’re looking for. Those who enjoy Haggard, Profanum, Mirrorthrone, and symphonic black metal in general would do themselves a favor by giving Elend a try. For those smitten with dark ambient artists like Raison D'etre and Sephiroth, Elend may be worth a shot given their newer tendencies to create atmospheres rather than lyricism with their instruments.