Interview:	ELVENKING
Title:	On a lightless path

The fact that the Italians have been around since 1997 is impressive in the fast-moving world of time and music. But the enormously playful formation makes no compromises when it comes to conscientiousness: unswervingly close to nature, mystically interested and thematically solid. Where Elvenking is on the label, Elvenking is on the inside.

Their new album „Reader Of The Runes - Rapture“ continues the runes saga begun with the 2019 long player. It is remarkable and respectable how consistently the folky melodic Power Metallers continue to tread their musical and thematic path forward. I talk to singer Damna, who has been with the band almost from the beginning.

Congrats to the new album! I am very pleased to see how unswervingly nature-loving, mystically interested and thematically consolidated you do your thing. So many bands fail to stay true to themselves and their attitude, as well as their artistic self-image. So what's different with you guys?


„Well, thanks a lot for your words. It’s not easy to be consistent through a long run of 20+ years I must admit, and there have been times when we had a bit of a challenge keeping the strings together, especially since we tried different musical approaches in the mid part of our career. Anyway, in the end, the core of our understanding and of our primordial influences prevailed. Paganism, old belief, the ways of the beyond, the occult, esotericism, ancient tales and folklore ... this is what used to drive us at the beginning and it is still what drives us today.“



Do you feel something like a shaman in your soul?


„If this means being in some way in contact with the spirit world, it could be partially true. Or at least, I feel like I’m constantly in search of meaningful ways that may not always be apparent or that are not as easy to explain as people would normally think. There is a lot that lies beyond our sight, and most of this lies where we usually do not dare to search or look for answers. It’s a dark path, but it’s where I feel most comfortable.“



How do you rate the new material in general?


„I think we have reached a new level if we look at the compositions and the arrangements. We had a lot of time to prepare the songs and the pre-productions of this and the following album and I think that we had a good chance to take care of every single detail. This doesn’t mean that the songs are over-thought, it’s just that we succeeded in reaching exactly what we had in our minds. We usually start having a clear idea of what we want and then we partially fail in coming up with the exact same thing when we finally produce the album. In my opinion, this time we even surpassed our own expectations.“

Who of you guys out of the band did the lion's share of the new song material?


„The two main songwriters in the band are always Aydan and myself. So it was also for this album, with the exception of one song written together with the new guitar player Headmatt (“The Hanging Tree”) and one written with the violinist Lethien – a song that will be released a bit later.“



How did your collaboration for the new work go in these rather difficult times? 


„It was a bit different. Me and Aydan always used to meet in person when working on new ideas. This time we had to start separately, since we began exactly during the pandemic period when there was a lockdown and we had curfews in the evenings and so on. So we basically wrote pieces of songs on our own. Then when we finally could start seeing each other again, we started meeting every week and worked on these bits and pieces, then started working again as we used to. This process led us to write all the songs for this album and also the next. This is a concept trilogy, so we really needed to have all the songs in order to capture the right mood for each chapter.“



How was the selection of songs for it done? Was it difficult for you? 


„It was a bit difficult, yes, since we had to place the right songs in the right album in order to have a consistent atmosphere throughout the length of the whole story. So we needed also to have the lyrics ready or at least a first blueprint in order to define the concept piece by piece. It has been a long and exhausting process, keeping the most aggressive and dark songs for this chapter and leaving the others for the next one, but as we saw that it was actually working, it was a big relief!“



After the 2019 "Reader Of The Runes - Divination" now the 2nd part "Reader Of The Runes - Rapture" - please tell more about, is this part of a trilogy? 


„Yes exactly, this is part two of the story. You know, we’ve always been fascinated by concept albums and rock operas from artists like King Diamond, W.A.S.P., Savatage and others, and we’ve always desired to make our own concept album. We tried with “The Scythe” album back in 2007 but that was more of a theme-driven album. Just before starting the songwriting sessions of what became “Reader Of The Runes – Divination”, me and Aydan had this idea and we discovered that it was definitely too thick and layered to actually fit in one album, so we decided to start this venture with a trilogy of albums. On the first part of the story, the mysterious hooded figure called “Reader of the Runes” arrives at the village and from the inside of his house made from a tree trunk, he performs divinations to the villagers. Eight are the characters on whom we focused and eight songs on the “Divination” chapter talk about the visions that the Reader summons to each of them. In this chapter “Rapture” we will see the outcome of those predictions and the effect that each of them has on the eight characters and on their bond.“



How did it come about and how did the collaboration with Heike Langhans for „Bride Of Night“ go?


„We needed an ethereal and melancholic voice to actually sing together with me the chorus of this song. We are fans of Heike and especially of what she did with Draconian so it was an easy choice. Se accepted gladly, she knows Elvenking and she was happy to do it. She also sings a part in the “Rapture” song. We have been criticized on social media as soon as we released the song saying that there is a feature by Heike, because people thought that she doesn’t sing enough and that the “feat. Heike Langhans” is a rip-off. To tell you the truth, I don’t see how this could be a rip-off ... we needed this voice effect, we asked her, she was happy, we were happy and actually she is there … we didn’t think about for how long she sings, how superficial the world has become with words, with appearances. We just thought this is a special collaboration and we shared it with all. Fortunately most of the people understood our artistic choice and liked the effect.“



What is or are the song lyric(s) with the most meaning for you on the new album?


„This is a story, so it is difficult to be reflected through events lived by others. However some of these characters happen to have some traits of our personalities indeed. For example I definitely share something with the character of The Undertaker… on this album “The Repentant” is for sure part of me and it’s the song with the most personal meaning of all. So yes, the lyrics tell a story, but they carry pieces of us, all the way.“



How went the collaboration with producer Scott Atkins (Cradle Of Filth, Behemoth) who also took over mixing and mastering duties? 


„It was great! As soon as we contacted him he checked our discography in order to understand what we needed in terms of sound and production. He came here to Italy to record the drums in a studio near where we live, and set the guitars and bass sounds. Then he went back home and as soon as we sent him all the recorded tracks he mixed the album and he captured the Elvenking sound perfectly. It was an amazing experience!“



You've been with the same record company for more than 2 decades now - looks like a respectful and fruitful cooperation, doesn't it? 


„Yeah, they’ve been fully supportive for more than 20 years now, so it’s definitely a good relationship between us and AFM.



Nearly everything has changed since Covid - the world, the music business, the societies - how much have you changed, how much have your views on true art changed now? 


„To tell you truth nothing has changed in how we approach music and the way we live it. Actually it never changed since 1997, when we formed the band. Since then, everything’s changed ... as a band we saw so many different things cease to exist or transform completely. From the way people listens to music, to the way the business is structured, to the bands walking the path with us, most of which are disbanded or lost. From the simple hand written fan-letters, that turned into e-mails, that turned into fast messages on social media. All has changed, yet nothing has, in our hearts and minds.“



Anything you would like to add ?


„We hope you’ll enjoy our new opus “Reader Of The Runes – Rapture”, it will be released in many different vinyl editions, cd and limited boxset. Then we hope to catch you on stage sooner or later! Stay metal and stay pagan!“

© Markus Eck, 08.04.2023

[ to overview ]

All Copyrights for band-photos & -logos reserved by its Respective Owners.

Advertising

+++