Elvenking-Red Silent Tides
AFM Records 2011Honestly when Mark sent this for me to review I had never heard of Elvenking. Their bio listed them as being an Italian folk/power metal band. As much as I enjoy all types of music I never thought that folk and metal would make a good fit. To be fair though from what I have read Elvenking have been moving further from a folk sound to more of a traditional European metal style (I say this even though their last album was an acoustic affair). With all that in mind Red Silent Tides really took me by surprise. I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. Produced and mixed by Dennis Ward (who has worked with Pink Cream 69) Red Silent Tides is very much a hard rock disc. There are folk moments to be sure on tracks like What's Left Of Me and Your Heroes Are Dead but it's on the heavier tracks they really caught my attention. The Last Hour and Silence De Mort are well crafted hard rock numbers. You can hear the influence of Ward on this disc. His production brings everything out and up front. The guitars are crisp. The drums are mixed perfectly. And vocalist Damnagoras sounds forceful and in charge. Just listen to the album opener Dawnmelting for an idea of the kind of presence he has. Again, this was a pleasant surprise for me. A real hidden treat right before Christmas.
posted by Andy at
1:43 PM
2 Comments:
I've been a fan of Elvenking since their debut. Their earlier work is far more folk based. The Winter Wake saw a more aggressive metal approach.
I haven't heard Red Silent Tides enough to really judge it yet. I still have to pick up a copy, but it's on my want list.
Well, I would say get it if your a fan. It still retains some of the folk magic here and there. And as I said it is forcefull and quite majestic in it's scope.
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