Elvenking - Secrets of the Magick Grimoire Review

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Concise Summary:

Well, if you've read any of my reviews on this blog before, you know that I value technical songwriting and originality. It probably comes as no surprise, then, that Elvenking's new album titled Secrets of the Magick Grimoire ranks pretty high in my book. The instrumental diversity and style diversity alone on this album is insane! In one song, you'll feel like you're at a Metallica concert, then listening to a cinematic movie soundtrack, and then attending a folk dance! Also, I'm almost positive that all of the instruments and choruses are real and not software instruments, which makes this album that much more impressive. Apart from the instrumentals, the vocals are also quite good. I was a little surprised that there were screamed vocals (I haven't really listened to Elvenking before this album), but they actually work in very well. The mix on this album is quite good. I was losing faith in AFM records after both Orden Ogan's new album Gunmen and Nocturnal Rites' new album  (click for my reviews of those albums) were mixed in a very pop-type style with just a solid block of rich, hyper-compressed sound. Fortunately, Secrets of the Magick Grimoire had none of that, which really impressed me and somewhat restored my faith in AFM. Overall, a very solid release and I'll be listening to Elvenking more in the future. 

My Rating: 9 out of 10


Highlights:
  • Incredible instrumentation and musical style diversity
  • Very enjoyable over-arching folk metal sound
  • Great singing and interesting lyrics
  • Impressive guitar work
  • Good overall mix on the album
  • Very constant sound to the album, even during parts where different musical styles are being played with. 
Lowlights:
  • The album is pretty cumbersome to listen to straight through, as it clocks in at an hour and two minutes (without bonus tracks). (That being said, I didn't get ear fatigue, because this album was thought out very well and had a good number of slow sections to serve as reprieves from the barrage of folk metal!)
Favorite Songs:
  • At The Court of the Wild Hunt
  • Draugen's Maelstorm
  • The One We Shall Follow
  • A Grain of Truth 
More Info:

Elvenking Official Website

Elvenking Facebook

Elvenking Twitter

Elvenking Encyclopaedia Metallum

Elvenking Wikipedia


Comments

  1. A.J. SpaudeNovember 9, 2017 at 10:46 PM

    Follow me @BPMetalReviews on both Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new reviews!

    ReplyDelete

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