Part One of Elvenking’s Reader Of The Runes Trilogy emerged in 2019, with the knowing stride and confident swagger of a Metal band who are happy with who they are and where they’re going. You’ve got to be confident in your own abilities to embark on a trilogy in the first place (I imagine it can be a tad embarrassing for a band to have a one part trilogy…) and Elvenking are. Widely described as a Melodic Power/Folk Metal band, but for the uninitiated, a longer, slightly more accurate label may be Melodic Power Metal band with Folk elements. There aren’t many of them around, and to be honest, Elvenking are the cream of the crop.
They do what they do exceedingly well and expectations are high nowadays when an Elvenking album is imminent. This Italian band have matured a lot in their lengthy career, spanning 11 albums in over 20 years, and the band have never sounded as at ease with themselves as they do now. Continuing to steer away from obvious folk clichés, the folk influence nowadays is within the music and vocals, rather than pushing forward any traditional folk instruments. There are still some really nice violin parts to the songs, but rightly or wrongly it’s never really the focal point of a song. The guitar and vocals still do the majority of the work in Elvenking, and they do it very well.
“Reader Of The Runes – Rapture” carries on where its predecessor left off, but as life mimics art, the last few years have spawned a slightly darker Elvenking both musically and lyrically, the songs backing the second part of the story in intensity. There’s a little more harsh vocals here and there and the choruses, though still sporting a folky quality, seem to nudge into the minor rather than major key register. Even when you think you’re in for an obligatory ballad, the band switch it up and deliver another Melodic Power Metal anthem. This album certainly has plenty of highlights – I particularly enjoy the blistering speed elements of ‘To The North’ as well as the up-tempo catchiness about ‘Bride Of Night’, two songs that are quite different to each other in attitude and delivery, highlighting the variation that the band are managing to incorporate within an album nowadays.
Yes, this is certainly another confident release from this unique band, as they push their trade-mark sound further. Maybe I do miss the obvious folk elements (The first part of ‘Incantations’ is maybe the nearest we get this time around – but at least it’s in there) and I might like to hear more of the excellent violin pushed to the fore as this adds to the band’s distinctive sound, but that’s probably just me. That very slight deviation this album has from their previous sound, maybe drags the band a little nearer to some of their Italian Melodic Power Metal counterparts and away from their folkier roots, which, if this direction if pursued may see the band winning over a lot more mainstream Power Metal fans who may have been put off in the past by the folk tag.
(8/10 Andy Barker)
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