Elvenking Prepare For UK Tour
FollowItalian metal pioneers Elvenking have been an active part of the European scene since 1997, steadily building a rapidly growing, cult fan-base and performing widely, not only in their home country, but also in European settings such as Budapest and the UK, where the band appeared at the legendary Bloodstock Festival with ex-Skyclad singer Martin Walkyier (in 2002), and at Metalfest in Dudley (2009), where the band walked away with the joint ‘Band Of The Festival’ prize.
And this month sees the band reprising their performance with Walkyier by presenting the band in two very special formats on four exclusive shows entitled ‘The Viking Funeral Tour’. One, the band’s own set, which will include material from last album “Era” (released in 2012), and possibly even one or two new songs, which the band have recently recorded for a new, as yet untitled record….? And, secondly as backing band to Walkyier’s take on the original Skyclad material, aptly entitled ‘Martin Walkyier Goes Skyclad.’
“Era” included just about everything the Elvenking fan can ask for. The stylistic spectrum covered songs from high-speed folk metal to melodic and romantic ballad; from crushing riff and melancholic mid tempo tracks, to acoustic folk tunes….., but it’s time to definitely move on with the new material, as singer Damna reveals in the band’s latest video blog from the studio…..
“It is always very easy to talk about “the last album”. To say how cool it is, how the band has improved and created better music, better lyrics and so on. This new album is something completely different though. We are not talking about a simple new album with a bunch of new songs. We are talking about something bigger. It is a piece of life…, of our life, but also our fans’ life too. It is the Elvenking dream come true. It is our ultimate manifesto, where music, lyrics and spirit unite. It’s not just about music… There’s a whole concept behind this album. It’s like when stars align, you know? And this time, we are ready!”
Two new permanent members joined the group’s ranks before “Era”, and those guys (bass player Jakob) and drummer Symohn (who took over the sticks from Zender), are already bringing their own ideas to the table, so it’s a wonderful time now to see the band back in the UK, and to get all the low-down on new material, as well as see something very special.
On December 16th, the band entered Domination Studios in San Marino to begin the recordings for this highly anticipated new album and artist Gyula Havancsak, who previously showed his mastery on the covers for “The Winter Wake”, and “The Scythe” is already creating artwork that will grace it.
Guitar player Aydan: “I consider this new album to be the closest to the original conceptual idea of the band we’ve yet done. When we founded Elvenking, our idea was to mix up strong epic and intense music with influences from folklore and with lyrics based on our personal idea of life and what we consider as a personal sort of paganism. Through the years, we moved steps away from our original path in search of new stimuli and ways to express ourselves as songwriters, but now we want to carve the name Elvenking firmly into our music and define exactly where the origins of our band are. We are really looking forward to these shows, because it will be really special to see how people react to Elvenking in the UK today…”