By Jonny Bakes
If you were to try and write down the “Big Four” of folk metal, it’s very possible that you might overlook Elvenking, the long standing Italian exponents of the genre. But to do so would be to miss out on a pretty great example of the genre who even like to throw the odd curveball of a cover out there too (You want a folk metal cover of Belinda Carlisle’s ‘Heaven is a Place on Earth’? They bring it).
Since their formation in 1997, Elvenking have racked up an impressive total of nine studio albums born from the band’s love of metal music and folklore. Some of the bigger hits you might recognise are ‘Pagan Revolution’ and ‘The Horned First and the Sorcerer’ or maybe you’ve just heard the aforementioned cover in your mate’s metal covers playlist. However, this month heralds the arrival of the tenth installment of the Elvenking saga, and this time we’ve got ourselves a concept album!
‘Reader of the Runes – Divination’ is the band’s first venture into the realm of concept albums and is an adventurous journey into a world of mystic runes, ancient powers and magic. Not only that, but ‘Divination’ is the first in what will become a series of albums to build up the ‘Reader of the Runes’ saga over the coming years. The band feel that they are finally ready to write a story that could embrace and contain the essence of the band, and that story begins here with ‘Divination’ where we are introduced to the characters and themes that will be prevalent in the subsequent albums.
Overall, I’d certainly day that they’ve achieved what they set out to do. This album captures that quintessential Elvenking sound that we’ve grown to love over the years. It has all those elements you’d expect from a folk metal album as well, plenty of upbeat tracks with a healthy amount of jovial offbeat rhythms accompanied by generous helpings of violin. Combine this with the added depth of the themes and stories running through this concept album and you’ve got yourself a very solid foundation for the rest of the album series!
The album starts with the rather dramatic opening track ‘Perthro’ which sets the tone for the album to come with its ethereal changing and almost shamanic drum sounds. To follow this, ‘Heathen Divine’ opens with a short acoustic guitar segment before launching into some raucous folk metal. Already the strong themes of pagan mysticism are shining through in this track about the solo pursuit of divination.
Following this is one of the tracks that have already been released on streaming platforms, ‘Divination’. Heavy use of the violin opens this track, which is exactly what I was hoping for, and this remains a strong presence that throughout the track! The themes here seem to focus on the link between the ability to see into the future and ravens, which any self-respecting Viking enthusiast will tell you harks back to Odin’s ravens Huginn and Muninn.
One of the standout tracks for me was ‘Eternal Eleanor’ and it took me a while to work out exactly what it was that made it stand out. But then I realised, it sounds like a slightly heavier Steeleye Span and that really works for me! I like the way that instead of shoehorning folk elements into metal, this sounds more like an out and out folk song that has been heavied up slightly!
The album closes with the 10+ minute epic ‘Reader of the Runes – Book 1’, which I assume is intended to serve as a lead into the next album whilst also closing out this one. I thought this was a particularly strong track that feels almost lost a shame to keep until the very end of the album, but then again it does serve very well as an album closer. Expect a great deal of variation in this track, from some particular fast metal sections, to subtle acoustic sections, a catchy chorus and a gentle piano outro to signal the end of the story.
All in all, I’m quite impressed with this album. It’s certainly adventurous to pull together a concept album in a genre that is often dominated by songs about drinking. This definitely works though and I’m intrigued to see where the story goes in the promised sequels! While some of the songs on this album may not necessarily stand out quite as well on their own, when listened to as a complete album, they flow together really well. If you’re a fan of folk metal this should make a worthy addition to your collection.
- ‘Reader Of The Runes – Divination’ is released on 30 August. You can get your copy HERE.
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