01.The Manifesto
02.King Of The Elves
03.Elvenlegions
04.The Druid Ritual Of Oak
05.Moonbeam Stone Circle
06.The Solitaire
07.Towards The Shores
08.Pagan Revolution
09.Grandier’s Funeral Pyre
10.Twilight Of Magic
11.Black Roses For The Wicked One
12.Witches Gather
Damna (vocals)
Aydan (Guitar)
Rafahel (Guitar)
Lethien (Violin)
Jakob (Bass)
Symohn (Drums)
Guest Vocalist :
Amanda Sommerville (King Of The Elves)
Italian folk/power metal formed in 1997, had to wait until 2000 before they put out their first demo, but it was a solid demo and soon got them signed to AFM records, who have just released album number eight.
Starting with an intro 'The Manifesto' sets the mood as we plunge into 'King Of The Elves' full on classic power metal influenced folk metal.
What stops this 13 minute epic from being too generic is the way the breakdowns work, bringing different elements to the piece, from acoustic, full on metal, soulful violin playing, great vocals and the female backing works well.
About 9 minutes in we get treated to more of Amanda's vocals for a very traditional folk rendition.
'Elvenlegions' and the next 2 stick to the traditional folk metal formula, then 'The Solitaire' has elements of symphonic black metal and pop thrown in to make a great song.
Pure folk stylings with 'Towards The Shores' make for a nice interlude and then a huge sound with 'Pagan Revolution' great harmonic backing vocals rain out over a hyper drum beat and uptempo violin playing, creating this kind of Jig/Mosh hybrid!
Echoes of Skyclad with 'Grandiers Funeral Pyre' another one that borders on black metal/folk crossover.
After more of the same (Good stuff, not much point in saying the same thing about each track), we arrive at 'Witches Gather' this one at 8 minutes is another one that mixes many styles, hell even a hint of Trash Metal in there.
Rating 8/10
For fans Of : Skyclad, Turisas, Within Temptation, Moonsorrow
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