At the beginning of October 2007 Italy’s Elvenking unleashed their forth album The Scythe. We (I) described it as, “a joy to behold, not a weak link in sight.” With that in mind, when the chance to have a chat with the band came up, it was an opportunity not to be missed. I have to say that beforehand I was a tad apprehensive as I have a very broad Lancastrian accent (I come from the same town as Sky Sports’ David Lloyd as a guide) – would we be able to understand each other properly? I also didn’t know which of the Elves would be calling but that’s life.
 
When the phone rang within five minutes of the allotted time it turned it was guitarist Aydan on the line and his English pronunciation was much better than mine during our chat. Here’s our discussion – with the pauses whilst Aydan worked out what I was saying, taken out!

Aydan

Congratulations on the new album, The Scythe. You must be thrilled with the reviews it’s been getting.
 
Aydan – Yes, we’re very pleased that it appears to be loved especially as it is bit different than what we have done before. It is more curious … darker and obscure. We were worried about what the fans would think. It has had very good reviews.
 
Why were you worried?
 
Aydan – Because it is more dark but as musicians and people we try to be different and try different things. We were searching for new paths in music and in life especially for ourselves and if people follow that’s OK.
 
How so?
 
Aydan – Firstly from the lyrics which have a concept this time, a theme – death. The album is about death and the music flowed from that.
 
I believe that the album has sold out of its initial run in Italy.
 
Aydan – Yes, we couldn’t believe it! Our record company AFM said that that they had printed enough copies to last for one year but they sold out in two or three weeks. I’m not saying that it can’t be found in the shops but they are having to make some more copies.
 
Wow.
 
Aydan - You are aware that there is a digipak version?
 
My review copy wasn’t. In fact it was one of those annoying ones with 99 tracks on it, all just a few seconds long!
 
Aydan (laughing) - Well the digipak version has sold out and there won’t be anymore.
 
What pleased you most about the new album?
 
Aydan – We tried to be different which was a challenge, for instance The Divided Heart is different to anything we’ve done before. Also, the playing is better than in the past, much more … er, grown up. The production is much better. We’ve taken it to a much more professional level.

Elvenking

Let’s talk about touring. You’re about to play some dates in Italy with Gotthard. How did that come about?
 
Aydan – Yeah, a few shows in Italy. They have a German booking agency who book acts in the different territories. Sometimes they book bands that may be strong in certain countries.
 
Are they struggling to pull in the punters? Are you helping to sell tickets?
 
Aydan – I’m not sure that is the case. I’m not sure what to expect though. They are a great band and I’m sure we can learn a lot. I am sure as Italians there will be some in the crowd who will know of us.
 
I’m  sure you’ll go down well as both bands are very melodic.
 
Aydan – Yes. We’re looking forward to it.
 
My son and his friends want to know when or if you’ll play the UK as they are big fans.
 
We have played the UK before in 2002 at Bloodstock with Martin Walkyier of Sabbat. It was a great experience. We had heard that the English metal scene was dead but we saw many fans there and we really hope to come there again.
 
In terms of gigs, what has been you’re most memorable one to date?
 
Aydan – As I say on our website it was our last show of 2006 at the Pestpop Festival in Belgium. There was a huge number of people enjoying Elvenking’s music, we did a long signing session and were very pleased. I also have great memories of Bloodstock as well.
 
I have seen your music described as Folk Metal, Fantasy Metal and Epic Power Metal. How would you describe it?
 
Aydan – That’s a very difficult question. Folk Metal is OK for the previous album and I understand the need to categorize to give a glimpse but we have melodies, riffs and extreme metal in our sound.

Moving along, you’ve made a video for The Divided Heart – what can you tell us about that?
 
Aydan – It is our first one. It’s low budget but it’s pretty OK. We tried to put a story behind it as we didn’t just want it to be us playing. It’s related to the theme of death. We didn’t have enough money to employ actors along with the young girl – that’s us!
 
Is it getting any airplay in Italy or Europe?
 
Aydan – We couldn’t believe it when we were told that MTV Sweden was playing it. We expected some metal channels but not MTV! Seven or eight years ago it wouldn’t have made sense to have made a metal video but now …
 
You’ve got your own Official YouTube site for instance.
 
Aydan – Yes and the internet opens up many possibilities but file sharing is a big problem for musicians.
 
We’re nearly out of time – is there anything else you’d like to say to the readers of HardRockHouse?
 
Aydan – Please ask them to visit our site for some strong melodies, gothic stuff and riffs and we really hope to come to the UK soon.

 There you have it. For all your Elvenking needs, the place to visit is www.elvenking.net. It would be rude not to pay a visit. Elevmking's new album, The Scythe, is out now via AFM Records and you can check out the HRH review of the CD via this link