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Seduced by the magnificent cover and the knowledge that Elvenking
plays medieval pagan folk metal in the vein of Skyclad, I decided to
hunt for this CD. ‘Wyrd’ is the second album of this Italian band
and sounds, musically as well as lyrically, less complex than its
precedent ‘Heathenreel’ of 2001. In Kleid they have found a new
singer and more details you can read in the interview I had with
guitar player Aydan.
So
here we are going to concentrate on the music of ‘Wyrd’. Totally
Skyclad, that was the first thing on my mind, but so easily you
won’t get rid of me. And it would be unfair to Elvenking, because
they really DO have a total-sound of their own. With the folk-alike
intro of ‘The Loser’s Ball’ we immediately hear what we can expect.
The violin and soprano singer appear on stage and we can hear a
full-blooded sound from the beginning.
All
registers are opened in the succeeding ‘Pathfinders’ which shows us
dynamic power metal with heroic lyrics. Superb are those heavy
vocals and the unctuosity of the violin. The songs are veined with
exuberant guitar leads of Aydan and Jarpen. One can hear they play
together for years. Also ‘Jigsaw Puzzle’ is of the same tap. A
female soprano vocalist was used cautiously. When you buy the album,
be sure you get the version with two bonus tracks for ‘Disappearing
Sands’ and ‘A Fiery Stride’ are catchy metal tracks with folkloric
intermezzo’s, creating a special atmosphere.
Fantastic track is ‘Moonchariot’, with its heavy start but soon it
transforms into a sneaky jazzy track which sounds as natural as the
ever-changing clouds above us. It’s a song that haunts you with an
acoustic guitar as surplus. Most stunning track of the album is the
12 minutes long ‘A Poem For The Firmament’. It contains 4 parts and
each of them represents a period of human existence. Those are the
songs where Aydan enjoys writing the lyrics for, lyrics with
deep-draught feelings, an epos itself. In between all those stories
we are overwhelmed by excellent guitar-duels and spontaneous solo’s.
Fans of Savatage and, of course, Skyclad can buy this album without
hesitation.
‘Wyrd’ needs some turns listening to come to full growth but then
manifests itself as a diverse album with much contents. Therefore
Elvenking deserves its predicate ‘album of the month’! |
