Now Playing: Pagan Purity by Elvenking

I’m not sure how obvious it is, but I am, in fact, a massive Elvenking fan. Maybe it’s the violin, maybe it’s the fact that they’re pretty Italian elf boys, maybe it’s the folk metal start leading into powerfolk in more recent albums, who knows.

Maybe it’s the fact that finding any sort of pagan metal is half impossible unless you’re willing to settle for viking metal, which runs the risk of feeling kinda same-y after a while. Like, yes, there’s Eluveitie, but that’s not really what I’m looking for. And beyond that, what is there?

My frustrations with finding pagan metal aside, I recently got the opportunity to see Elvenking live and it was a blast. Their music is probably best described as powerfolk (or, as I recently learned their lead singer calls it, melodic pagan metal), but they do include some growl vocals.

The band has been around since the late-ish 90s, and as a result, they’ve had their fair share of lineup changes. Their lineup as it currently stands is Damnagoras (Davide Moras) on vocals, Aydan (Frederico Baston) on guitars, Headmatt (Mattia Carli) on guitars, Jakob (Alessandro Jacobi) on bass, Lethian (Fabio Polo) on violin, and Symohn (Simone Morettin) on drums. Of the original lineup, only Damna and Aydan are still around, though Damna did leave the band briefly for the recording and release of their second album.

I find Elvenking to be a bit unique in their sound. Now, while powerfolk isn’t an unheard of genre, and it is rather common to include classical string parts, even if it is in the form of an orchestral backing, Elvenking as a band has something that I haven’t quite found in any other metal bands to date.

It’s hard to quantify exactly what that thing is. It isn’t the violin, plenty of European folk and symphonic metal bands include classical string instruments (see Apocalyptica as a great example of this). It isn’t the fact that it’s talking about paganism and pagan themes, viking metal is a thing for a reason. It isn’t the fact that they have a more powerfolk style, it’s a known combination for a reason.

I think a lot of it, at least for me, is that there isn’t really a focus on the epic side of the pagan themes. Now, epic lyrics can be a lot of fun. There’s a reason I like Bloodbound and Brothers of Metal. But there’s a time and a place for everything, and more often than not, I find myself in the mood for what Elvenking has to offer.

The lyrics they write as a band have a tendency to focus on the stories of paganism in a way that is often overlooked by the majority. Instead of going for the epic tales of going on a massive adventure and befriending gods and powerful entities, they build stories surrounding the mundane, both good and bad. They look at the tales of love between two people from the perspective of one deeply hurt (Forget-Me-Not), twisted fairy tales (Through Wolf’s Eyes), the two sides of unrequited love (Herdchant and An Autumn Reverie), the loneliness this path can bring (The Solitaire), finding community on the path (Elvenlegions), reclaiming power from the dominant culture (Pagan Revolution), a former soldier losing himself to anger and grief (The Hanging Tree), and so many more.

This focus on the mundane fills a curious void in the metal world, one also touched on by some Sabaton songs (but Sabaton is a topic for another time). While having a focus on the more epic side of things can be good for putting attention on the pagan path and various mythologies, having a focus on the mundane shines a light on how things really are and makes it more relatable to those who may be looking for others like them.

Having a focus on the mundane also provides a sense of being seen. It tells the stories of the people, sending the message that they’re not alone. That there are people out there who have the same combination of religion and music taste as they.

So, my point in all of this is that I’m a massive nerd (which shouldn’t come as a surprise) and that I deeply love Elvenking as a band for the music they make and how they gear it towards people who, like me, enjoy that more intimate connection in their music. Of course, it does go far deeper than just having other people who like this kind of music. It also means that there’s a connection beyond the music. It means that there’s a sense of understanding between the artists and the masses that goes beyond just good music.

So the TLDR of all this is that I’m really excited for the end of the Reader of the Runes album trilogy.