2006-02-16
Elvenpath is all about typical European Power Metal, the only reason for not signing them to any label, as far as I see it, is that there are too many bands like that today. That, at least, is the only logical thought that comes to mind from the record labels' point of view, but if they would have taken the time to listen to Elvenpath, they may have given up certain bands to make room for this one.
The band produced this album, "Gateways", by itself and because of that the album is so special; it is special because the sound is so rough and unprofessional and that creates the sense it is an underground power metal band that was active in the eighties.
Another reason for saying this album is special is the professional attitude of the band to the music - They play their music very well, creating very enjoyable riffs and solos that are typical to this genre, the problem is that sometimes the drumwork overrides them and they're getting pushed to the background; It's not that the drumwork is bad, on the contrary, but with a better sound production the drums would have remained in the background and the guitars would have been brought to the forefront to show how much talent this band possesses.
Musically speaking it is also worth noting Michael Petrick's voice, a fine voice that's very suitable for this genre, Michael is also the guitarist here alongside Till Oberbossel.
Another special feature here is the length of the songs, the album contains only five songs but the first three are over seven minutes, the fourth one is over eight minutes and the last one is over nine minutes.
Despite their length the songs are not boring; on the contrary, they're quite interesting and enjoyable.
There are two main reasons for that: The first one is musical: the band plays some great melodies that accompany the songs and at times turn into exciting solos.
The second reason is lyrical: the first song, "The Land That Could Not Be", talks about Kurdistan, don't ask me why four German guys are singing about the Kurds, they just do - They tell about the depression and occupation these people suffer from, and their desire for freedom and reviving their culture.
The second song, "Shades Of A Wolfsface", talks about finding your way in life and achieving your goals and wills.
The third song, "Amazone Queen", has a regular topic for a power metal song, a tale of a warrior with swords and sorcery, but here our hero is a female and that's the band's contribution to the equality between the sexes.
"Winterland" is the fourth song and it is half a ballad with beautiful tunes and half explosive power metal, the lyrics are about a dark country with no hope.
The last song, "The Sacred Talisman", is based on Stephen King and Peter Straub's novel, "The Talisman"; this song goes in reverse as relates to the former song, with this song playing noisy power metal at first, then turns itself to a beautiful ballad and it finishes with some noisy tunes again.
Nir Haviv
