Label : Infernö Records
Review by Tony Cannella
From France, Elvenstorm is a pure old school heavy metal band with thrash metal influences as well. They were formed in 2008 and in 2010 release their demo “Storm ‘Em All”. The four songs that made up their demo now appear on their debut offering, “Of Rage and War” released via Infernö records.
Okay, getting straight into it Elvenstorm comes out of the gate strong with the powerful duo of “Winds of War” and “Rebirth”. The songs are driven by the maniacal riffing of guitarist Michael Hellström and vocalist Laura Ferreux. Her style is straight-ahead metal and is perfect for the music that is being played on “Of Rage and War”. It just gets better with the next track “Witchhammer” which opens with some cool guitar harmony parts before transforming into a thrash-fest and some gang background vocals (shouts) are present near the end of the song. This fast became a favorite of mine. “Struggle Within’” maintains the heaviness of the previous songs, but is less thrash and more metal. “Black Visions” picks up the speed and is like a shot of adrenalin – the gang style background vocals return on this song. “Kill the Deceivers”, “Stand Thy Fall” and the album closer “Legions of Steel” are three more highlights. Lasting only for 9-songs and 38-minutes, “Of Rage and War” certainly doesn’t overstay its welcome. The songs hit you hard, quick and leave you wanting more. Fans who are into bands who are playing old school metal should check out Elvenstorm.
Rating – 88/100
Tracklist
- Winds of War
- Rebirth
- Witchhammer
- Struggle Within’
- Black Visions
- Kill the Deceivers
- Raven in a Blackened Sky
- Stand Thy Fall
- Legions of Steel
Line Up
- Laura Ferreux – Vocals
- Michael Hellström – Guitars
- Will Duclot – Bass
- Felix Börner – Drums