Customer Reviews

The Scythe

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Elvenking play power metal with a folk twist by including a violin as an integral part of their songs. They are competant musicians and their songs are well written and thoughtful. As one might surmise from the title, "the Scythe" deals with the many different opinions about death. Most of the tunes are upbeat and pretty standared 80's influenced old school heavy metal with the violin. If you like that sort of thing, this disk is for you.
Although I enjoy this record, I give it four rather than five stars since there are really no stand out tracks like Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" or Maiden's "Run to the Hills". But this is still a good album and if you are a power metal fanatic it is worth getting.

People seem quick to play the "sellout" card when discussing Elvenking's 2007 album The Scythe. Frankly, unless you're Dragonforce I don't see how it's even possible for a power metal band to sell out. And no, there isn't anything remotely emo or nu-metal about this album.

Elvenking is doing what they've always done. They're playing power metal with string folk elements and a willingness to experiment with harsh vocals. They used harsh vocals/screams as far back as Heathenreel. That doesn't exactly make them Linkin Park or Bullet for My Valentine (Mercenary, maybe). That said; The Scythe is not Elvenking's strongest work. It lacks the focus and melodic beauty of Heathenreel, and seems a bit rushed. You have completely heavy songs like "Infection" and "Poison Tears" set against more traditional numbers like "The Divided Heart" (which has to be Elvenking's best song in quite a while), and the result is an album without a real character. Still, what other band is out there playing folk-based power metal, and doing it this well?

There are some really terrific songs on The Scythe, and some filler. The end result is still pretty impressive, even if it isn't the band's finest hour. I'd absolutely recommend this album to open-minded power metal fans, as well as fans of some of the Pagan Fest bands like Korpiklaani, Tyr and Finntroll.

PS - I saw Elvenking live at ProgPower USA IX in 2008, when they were pushing The Scythe, and they were brilliant. I'll give this band the benefit of a doubt every time.

While not Elvenking's best offering, The Scythe is solid and enjoyable. The biggest problem is in its presentation.

The album is interspersed with flat readings of lugubrious poetry, a technique that other metal bands have used and only rarely to any positive effect. While not the worst poetry I've ever heard, it is pithy and meaningless and ultimately detracts from the experience. It almost feels like it was thrown in to justify calling the album "The Scythe."

Honestly I'm surprised they all agreed to leave it in.

This music does not have so much as a HINT of emo or "core" influences. There is prominent melodic death metal elements, but haters don't seem to know what it is they hate. To say that this album is EMO or NU-METAL is misleading and couldn't be further from the truth. This is a POWER METAL album, and a damned good one at that.

That said, this is definitely a heavier album than Elvenking's other "folkier" albums, but the folk elements are still there... just subdued. If you are a fan of Mercenary, Raintime, or Scar Symmetry, I almost guarentee you'll like this album after a few spins.

Now on to the actual content... WOW. This album grew on me quickly to the point where it blows me away every time I pop it in. Early favorites (great places to start with this album) were "The Divided Heart", "The Scythe", and "Poison Tears". I eventually came to like every song savor "Totentanz" - a strange interlude track with some spectacular acoustics but it's definitely not a sing-along.

With this album you will get crushing melodic guitars, bombastic arrangements, and mostly (not overly whiney!) clean vocals... with some harsh grunts scattered about here and there. There are strange interlude passages between each song which are kind of lame, but they are short and don't hurt the musical experience much. 5 stars - excellent, essential to all who like power metal with an extreme touch.

This is one of the greatest metal albums of the decade, if not of all time!

I really loved the first 3 albums (as well as two tragedy poets) and have been following Elvenking for a while, but this album just enters the realms of NU-METAL and EMO a little too much for my liking.
This is not to say its all bad. There are still some really great moments and songs, such as Lost Hill of Memories and A Riddle of Stars.
still worth it, but at times a bit dissapointing.
but whatever two tragedy poets totally made up for it!

To be honest i LOVE the first three albums, but am dissapointed by this one. Sounds very emo at times.

First and foremost I am a huge Elvenking fan and own all of their albums, that being said, this is my least favorite of them all. I do not mean that the album is a bad one, in fact it is rather good, but compared to the previous three it is quite different and not as much to my liking.
This album takes away a lot of what I liked in previous Elvenking albums: the folk music. Granted there are still a few tracks where the violin and flute are present (The Scythe, A Riddle of Stars, Infection, Lost Hill of Memories), however it seems that the band has taken a more tradition metal route. There is much more screaming and hard pounding music in this release than in the past. There are also two songs that seem to be almost filler: The Divided Heart and Totentanz. "The Divided Heart" sounds half emo (something the band has never done) and "Totentanz" is just a few minutes of straight talking with small background music. For an album with only 10 songs I was a little disappointed about this. The last gripe that I have with The Scythe is the theme: death. While past Elvenking albums have been very uplifting and cheerful, the darker tone of The Scythe makes it almost depressing to listen to. At least, that has been my experience. Songs like "Poison Tears" and "Death and Suffering" just aren't as positive as "The Regality Dance", "The Wanderer", or "Jigsaw Puzzle".
Now for the good news. Despite the changes that the band has been making it still has that signature Elvenking sound. The violins that ARE present in the songs are very well played, especially the haunting intro to "Infection". Like I stated earlier, the music itself is still top notch, it is just a different type than Elvenking has displayed in the past. If this is your first listen to Elvenking I would urge you to give a listen to either Heathenreel or Wyrd first, that is the type of music that made me an Elvenking fan in the first place. If you are already a fan of them however then do not hesitate to purchase this album, just be prepared for a bit of deviation from past formulas.

If you love to In flames, You will love this album.

It is including to sound folk-death-trash . Awesome mixture. It have been to rich a structer.

My favorite songs is 2. , 3. ,7. , and 9. tracks. But all songs excellent.

Buy it. No regret.