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I am a huge
fan of power metal. I am also a huge fan of folk metal. So when I heard
there was an Italian band by the name of Elvenking who play a hybrid
of the two genres, I was immediately interested. I know they aren’t
the first and only ones to do this (Almora from Hungary comes to mind),
but nevertheless I was still anxious to hear how two of my favorite
metal sub-genres might be blended together. I must confess that this was my first introduction to the band. After doing some research, I found that this is their third release. Their first album entitled “Heathenreel”, is obviously the fan favorite. The second album “Wyrd”, saw the band with a new singer, while Damnagoras went off to go explore a different band, Leprechaun. On “The Winter Wake”, Damnagoras is back in the line up (much to the delight of fans). So while I can’t compare this work to their previous, I can tell you that it is quite an enjoyable album. The first song ‘Trows Kind’ is a great indication as to what this CD is all about. We have big choruses, lots of violin playing, some shouting background vocals, and odd vocal lines blended nicely with solid riffing and drumming. This is definitely one of the better songs on the album, as it never lets up and shows impressive musicianship and songwriting skills. As a whole, the songwriting (handled by guitarist Ayden and Damnagoras) is some of the more unique I have heard in a long while. It really is hard to explain. In fact after the first listen, I found it of putting. I wasn’t originally very psyched on this release as I couldn’t really wrap my brain around it because of the writing style. After about listen number 6, I found myself really getting into what was happening here. Damnagoras’ voice and vocal lines at times don’t seem to fit into what is going on with the guitars and drums. He seems out of time and out of key more often than he should. However, with the repeated listens, the style really jumps out as almost progressive. It is clear that everyone in the band knows exactly what they are doing here, and by writing this type of music, they are just setting themselves apart from the hordes of talent less power metal bands out there. The violin playing by Elyghen is superb. His lines are the reason this band is considered power folk. Lots of his violin lines have a jig type feel to them that makes you want to grab a partner and dance, while the metal underneath them makes you want to grab a partner and headbang. The rest of the band holds up their end of the performance stick as well. The drumming is flashy yet very solid, and the guitarist has some really nice solos interspersed throughout the album. We also have guest vocals on the title track by Schmier of Destruction, which provide a good contrast to the normal vocals. While I enjoy all the tracks here, and there are none I would consider filler, favorite song would have to be ‘On the Morning Dew”, which might be a bit atypical since it is an acoustic piece featuring flute and a female voice to complete the duet. There is something about the lilt of the song in its’ 6/8 time and the way the two voices intertwine that just floors me. I feel this CD is worth the purchase just for this song itself. I am currently trying to track down the two other albums by this band, because if “Heathenreel” is better than this (according to those pesky fans again), than I am in for a real treat. I think you will be in for a treat for yourself though if you picked up “The Winter Wake”. I guarantee you don’t have another album like it in your collection. | |
