“Elvenking is another one of Italy’s most famous cheese-metal establishments and they’ve been pumping out folk/medieval influenced power metal since 2001’s extraordinary Heathenreel. Unfortunately, since their debut record the band hasn’t produced an album worth all the hope invested in them because of their debut work. In terms of Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™, Elvenking is possibly one of the fastest drop-offs in recent memory. I’ve checked in from time to time over the years, as I want to like them, but I genuinely haven’t ever been able to get into their stuff. The last one I spent any longer amount of time with was 2010’s Red Silent Tides which left me cold and bored, and Era wasn’t great from a songwriting perspective, but the record was genuinely killed by its mastering job.” All has not been well with Elvenking, can The Pagan Manifesto right the ship? Or will they continue to produce flat, disappointing crap?
