Elvenpath are a power metal band from Germany formed in 2002 by guitarist Till Oberbossel. In a career spanning two decades, the band have endured several line-up changes, toured with bands such as Sabaton, Skyclad and Doro, and performed at several metal festivals – Up The Hammers, Rising Fest, and Dong Open Air to name just a few, and released five studio albums – ‘Spyrol’ (2008), ‘Elvenpath’ (2011), ‘Pieces Of Fate’ (2015), ‘The Path Of The Dark King’ (2019), and ‘Faith Through The Fire’.
Emerging in 2023, the band’s fifth album features nine new songs across a fast-paced forty-eight minutes!
And for as long as I can remember, Germany has been prolific in producing power metal bands – a seemingly never-ending conveyor belt of sensational bands that take over the world. And in the shape of Elvenpath – now in their twenty-first year – Germany can continue to stand tall and proud. For the band, the new album is a hard-hitting mix of power come epic come glorious metal that swaggers and swans its way through all the songs on offer, Elvenpath breathing life into ‘Faith Through The Fire’ with ‘Overture Of Steel’ – a thirty second, spoken word passage (in German) that I presume are two of the band members introducing the new album! And as I don’t speak German, I can’t be sure, but what I can be sure of, the opening song (proper) ‘Legend Of The White Wolf’ is a bombastic barrage of heavy power metal that hits hard, and very direct. Immediately into their stride, the band hammer the ground with authority and aplomb – Elvenpath is back! And doing what they do best!
And with so much oomph too – ‘Satan’s Plan’ picking up the energy and pace to become a thunderous tirade of traditional sounding European metal. Europe has always stood head and shoulders above the rest of the world in terms of power metal excellence, and in the shape of Elvenpath, Europe will remain standing tall. With an emphatic upsurge in speed, the band races off at high velocity, ‘All Across The Universe’ a blistering barrage of speedy power metal, harking back to a glorious time when bands such as Helloween and Rage were shaping the sound and direction of the power metal genre. ‘Ocras Agus Neart’ is a two-minute menacing instrumental acting as an intro for ‘The Famine Year’…
…the longest song on offer! Clocking in at just two seconds shy of ten minutes in length, ‘The Famine Year’ opens with the glorious guitar sound so synonymous with the iconic NWOBHM. Elvenpath may reside on mainland Europe, but it has definitely taken inspiration from the legendary British movement from the eighties spearheaded by icons Iron Maiden and Saxon. And as for ‘The Famine Year’ – a majestic march of mid-tempo metal, highly anthemic and a hundred percent infectious. So sit back and let the band take you to heavy metal heaven!
The title song ‘Faith Through The Fire’ is the most melodious offering heard so far, floating in on the crest of some fairly mellow musings, adopting the classic “foot on the monitor” gallop of old-school metal. Shaking the ground as ‘Faith Through The Fire’ (the song) storms by, the band are at their most majestic here, striding tall with shoulders back and head held high. And with a title that would make metal titans Manowar proud, ‘Hail The Hammer And Warrior Wind’ echoes the Americans’ anthemic majesty – Elvenpath battering listeners round the head with a brand of power-driven heavy metal. Simply sumptuous!
The band launches the nine-and-a-half-minute-long ‘Silesian Winter’ with a mellowness not heard before, leading the listener down the ballad highway – but with ‘Silesian Winter’ chiming in at such length, surely not! Not on a metal album! As ‘Silesian Winter’ progresses, the atmosphere is electric and unwavering – until we get past three minutes when a complete change of identity sees the band adopt the classic galloping stance. You know the stance – listen to every other Iron Maiden song in their back catalogue, Elvenpath elegantly strutting their stuff. So come on, listeners, raise your fists high and salute a red-hot slice of traditional heavy metal.
And talking of traditional metal, ‘The Smoke That Thunders’ also thunders with the iconic NWOBHM guitar tone, blended with a punk attitude and rolled up in a thick power metal wrap! The fastest song on the album, ‘The Smoke That Thunders’ screams and screeches its way to a conclusion – the album ending as it began, with ‘Epiclogue’ – a thirty-second, spoken word passage (in German) that I presume are two of the band members. But this time, methinks they’re not introducing ‘Faith Through The Fire’ (the album), more like a quick snapshot, or immediate reaction to what just went by.
Overall, a majestic and highly melodic stroll of power comes from traditional heavy metal, ‘Faith Through The Fire’ is an immensely infectious listen.
TRACKLIST
Overture Of Steel
Legend Of The White Wolf
Satan’s Plan
All Across The Universe
Ocras Agus Neart
The Famine Year
Faith Through The Fire
Hail The Hammer And Warrior Wind
Silesian Winter
The Smoke That Thunders
Epiclogue
Elvenpath: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: El Puerto Records
Category: Album
Country: Germany
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
