Description

After the release of their first demo To Oak Woods Bestowed, Elvenking were signed to AFM Records and finally released a first-class debut titled in Heathenreel. They’re a band from Italy and plays folk metal featuring both flutes and violins. This is a band highly influenced by Skyclad but also power metal bands like Helloween and Blind Guardian. The vocals are high pitched and clear, but theres also a few harsh death metal-growls. They really can’t easily be compared to other bands as they have a sound and a song writing of their own. The band certainly stands apart from the Rhapsody imitations that are so common in Italy. Listen to a track like Hobs An Feathers and you hear that this could have appeared on any Skyclad album. And listen to the beauty of Seasonspeech, which offers several changes of atmosphere, from acoustic passages á la Blackmore’s Night to melodies in the melodic death metal style, and features 4 different voices. The members are rather young, the oldest being 26. Despite their youth they’re magnificent musicians. The wide variety of musical styles and tempos are blended together perfectly. If you like folk metal or the bands mentioned in this review you’ll be more than pleased with this

Track listing:
1. To Oak Woods Bestowed
2. Pagan Purity
3. The Dweller of Rhymes
4. The Regality Dance
5. White Willow
6. Skywards
7. Oakenshield
8. Hobs An’ Feathers
9. Conjuring of the 14th
10. A Dreadful Strain
11. Seasonspeech