Review | Elvenking – Reader Of The Runes – Luna

Reaper Entertainment / Bertus

Italian folk and power metal maestros Elvenking unleash their magnum opus, `Reader Of The Runes – Luna’, the final chapter of their eponymous trilogy. The highly anticipated release marks the finale of their ambitious `Reader of the Runes’ conceptual story, captivating listeners with an intricate blend of medieval mysticism, piercing melody, and unbridled energy with high wallop. Galloping drums and harmonized choruses loaded on top of sizzling guitar salvos and intense stacked melodies that make Blind Guardian tremble.

This third chapter, `Luna’, is the crowning jewel of Elvenking’s musical odyssey, uniting the medieval folk aura of `Divination’ with the ominous undertones of `Rapture’.

DIVERSITY

The album featuring tracks like the opening polka metal hymn ,,Season of the Owl’’ with its relentless pace and gritty vocals, and the intense ‘Savatage’-like crafted ,,The Ghosting’’, fuse tremendous musical marksmanship and intrinsic momentum. Its rich tapestry of sounds and dense interplay, combined with its daunting mystic stories dazzle the listener. The textures are vividly caught in an impressive production highlighting all ingredients and blending the overall sound to a humongous organic soundscape emphasizing its musical potency.

The diversity is immense, yet it also gels in a fluid manner. From the mentioned cinematic opening and sudden salvo of ,,Season of the Owl’’ with its major keys and violin giving way to crunching guitars and rapid rhythms, to the Viking grind of ,,On These Haunted Shores’’, they deliver a relentless potion of folk-infused power metal. The band showcases their versatility, effortlessly shifting from the bass-driven growling groove of ,,Gone Epoch’’ to the head-banging fury of ,,Stormcarrier’’, where Damna unleashes his death metal vocals for the first time on this record. The switching gears add to the shifting momentum and stacks emotions to the story, while unravelling enigma of the reader’s identity.

AN EXTRA DIMENSION

`Reader of the Runes – Luna’ is all but a stereotype for folk metal enthusiasts. Elvenking went to great lengths to make this effort go down in the books and carve their name into the metal realms as one of the spear headers of the genre. Twisting their ingredients into form, songs well with emotions and cascade whirling pools of stirring melodies. Adding different poise and pace, the band brings progressive elements to the front uplifting songs like the riff laden and symphonic enhanced ,,On these Haunted Shores” with its wonderful orchestration and time shifts with monumental melodic vocals or spiced up heavier variant ,,Throes of Atonement” with its dynamic drum bombardments and marvelous harmonic violin-guitar interplay. The rousing vocals wade with swagger with marching stance, before the speed starts to pick up again.

Tapping the vein of the illustrious folk past, Elvenking injects Celtic and medieval interplay into epic structures like on ,,Luna”, where they shoot into Teutonic orbit constantly, gearing back in mega melodic enterprises with Damna checking in with his most melodic register, displaying great versatility. The interplay and guitar trade-off between Aydan and Headmatt is impressive and gives many of the tracks an extra dimension. The riffs and hooks are memorable and nest immediately, while the solos are colorful, alternating melodies and intensity. It discharges classic metal as much as folk.

CLASSIC ERAS AND MODERN METAL

Spotlighting the violin, the swagger laden danceable ,,Starbath” evokes Heiden paganism and campfire rituals with pirate rhythms and chants tugged in its gut. Even more melodic, ,,The Weeping” balances wonderful harmonies, rousing chants and powerful short growls, switching melancholic to anger laden. The cinematic discharge adds to the wonder of the narrative. Arm in arm we dance, slamming med. Colorful is the interaction of drum shuffles and violin before delving into a wonderful guitar duel.

The album meddles on the lines of classic eras past while immerging into the depths of modern metal’s finest. The blend is tremendous with its ingredients brooding in fine form. There’s so much class, so much style to their approach, it wells uniqueness. The eleven-minute epic ,,Reader of The Runes – Book II’’ stands as a testament to Elvenking’s creative songwriting ambition and musical prowess. It’s a tour de force that demands listeners to marvel in the complex arrangements and melodies and throw your horns in praise. Powerful riffs and string sections, with Damna growling loud, phrasing his vocal lines heavily. He switches registers constantly and switches from Hansi Kürsch’ soaring highs, mixed with Ray Alder’s (Fates Warning) echo on the multi-layered chorus, before ‘angery-ing’ up to Zak Stevens’ (Sava) classic metal register, all to inject the daunting momentum for the grand finale.

And let’s not ruin this marvel shooting into gear with its intense drum wallop, fierce guitars and piercing solos and death metal vocals. The brutal section is brooding before returning to form and gearing up for the dramatic breakdown.

ELVENKING – THE CONCLUSION

`Reader of The Runes – Luna’, displays Elvenking innovative status. The band brought everything from the previous records and hangs it on the hinges of modernity on which the album and its storyline rotate. Producing a monumental record that boasts songs that can stand alone within the concept, the band underlines its creativity. Its keen musical marksmanship makes all song fall into place easily while packing their own unique twists and trades.

As the curtain falls on this epic trilogy, Elvenking delivers a tour de force record leaving an indelible mark on folk and power metal. `Reader of the Runes – Luna’ is a musical journey spanning years and proves a fitting end for an ambitious narrative undertaking.

Elvenking have saved their best for last!

Release date: 11 April 2025