Elvenking

Hailing from Italy, Elvenking fuses progressive, power, and melodic death metal with mystical melodies and hearty group choruses. Active since 2001, the ensemble has issued a series of inventive pagan folk-metal albums that earned strong notices, punctuated by ventures into prog rock with the 2007 release The Scythe, purely acoustic folk on 2008's Two Tragedy Poets [...And a Caravan of Weird Figures], and expansive concept works via 2019's Reader of the Runes: Divination plus 2023's Reader of the Runes: Rapture.

Guitarists Aydan and Jarpen launched the project in 1997; it solidified as a quartet in 1998 once Damna joined on vocals and Zender took the drum chair. A subsequent demo reached German imprint AFM, which promptly offered the newcomers a contract. Bassist Gorlan arrived in 2001 and appeared on the debut long-player Heathenreel. The next year brought vocalist Damna's exit along with the entries of singer Kleid and multi-instrumentalist Elyghen on violin and keyboards. The follow-up album Wyrd surfaced in 2004, drawing thematic inspiration from Brian Bates's book The Way of Wyrd: Tales of an Anglo-Saxon Sorcerer. Further personnel shifts preceded 2006's Winter's Wake, as both Kleid and founding guitarist Jarpen stepped away; original frontman Damna nevertheless returned during this stretch and has since become the longest-serving vocalist. The 2007 outing The Scythe became the group's biggest success, a dark and heavier concept album that drew comparisons to In Flames and Blind Guardian. The primarily acoustic Two Tragedy Poets (...And a Caravan of Weird Figures) returned to folk foundations in 2008, yet 2010's Red Silent Tides revived full-throttle power metal and introduced guitarist Rafahel alongside violinist Lethien. After extensive road work, drummer Symohn entered the lineup and recorded on the well-regarded 2012 album Era. Pagan Manifesto, the eighth studio effort, appeared in 2014, while the first live album, Night of Nights: Live, arrived in 2016. Secrets of the Magick Grimoire followed as the ninth LP in late 2017, succeeded by the conceptual Reader of the Runes: Divination in 2019 and its narrative sequel Reader of the Runes: Rapture in 2023.