Reviewed by:
Fool Dominhated, on january 19, 2009
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Sound: After just one year away, Elvenking back on stage with a new album, but this time in a different way. As it was with "The Scythe" even with the new album "Two Poets Tragedy (... and a caravan of weird figures)" Elvenking focus and improve in a particular part of their sound. In "The Scythe" the band focused on the most "dark", more "bad", more "metal" part of their sound, so that output a concept album about the "Death", almost completely eliminating the acoustic part (even if they output a masterpiece); "Two Poets Tragedy" (I abbreviated the name because it is too long; D) can be considered the opposite of "The Scythe", as it is an album almost entirely acoustic, electric guitar is almost never present unless some solo as in "Another Awful Hob's Tale" and little else. The acoustic part of this album is impressive, besides being very well played, was extremely varied and expressive through the use of typical folk instruments, which immerse the listener in the world of Elvenking. Truly exceptional. The folk instruments are skillfully added to the usual excellent violin and piano of Elyghen, even the good rhythmic part (since it is quite difficult to do in a completely acoustic album) to Gorlan on bass and Zender on drums, not to mention the excellent work done by Aydan that shows himself also as an excellent acoustic guitarist. Nothing else to add, only that the Elvenking prove themselves still one of the best bands of the moment. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: The Elvenking to write the lyrics of "Two Poets Tragedy" follow the path taken by all previous albums, which is to be a very introspective album and emotional. Example of this is the song "Not My Final Song", which the guitarist Aydan says, "is probably one of the pieces more ironic, irreverent of Elvenking. The topic is my funeral. From inside the coffin I look around and see all the faces of those who were around me during my life. I see them there crying and I wonder about the contradictions of those behind a mask of tears to my funeral, showed the worst face on several occasions of life; other, I wonder why I have not spoken before my time was not. This song is sung but also to understand just what "too much" after he had lost, along with the awareness that it is too late.
It is a song is dedicated to all those who are aware of what they lost as well as those who have lost because they could not say what they wanted and even to those who can not understand what they actually lost. ". What to say... the lyrics are awesome. For the singing of Damnagoras, I have no more words to describe his talent... // 10
Impression: The first thing that impressed me is the album cover, usually I am not one who is attracted by these things, but the Elvenking able to communicate only with the album cover. I do not know if I explained well. Now I go to analyze song for song "Two Poets Tragedy", Before analyzing the album I want to clarify that:The alchemy background sees one hand the immediacy of each piece and the other a simplicity that should not be underestimated: As a first listen might seem like an album built on tracks between their often similar but equally enjoyable is actually with a little more attention to reveal specific features that are hidden nuances in differentiating the album.
"A caravan of figures", the main theme are feeling and imagination, there is a real plan to link sequence in each of the parts in a random but repeated listening is possible to find more than in Initially misleading listening sequentially. Having said that, now I can analyze the album:
01.The Caravan of Weird Figures: intro of the album, completely acoustic, as well as being one of the best intro ever, the album is also functional, as it makes us understand the difference from previous albums. Percussion that vaguely recall the "Totentanz" but with a different breath that the violin accentuates, rather than a dance scanned and gloomy, here are the percussion backdrop to lament life light but alive.
02.Another Awful Hob’s Tale: an initial roll, vaguely Echoing the magnificence of a piece of the caliber of “Oakenshield”, explodes in his rhythmic dance and almost certainly festive, so it is not surprising nor stone to run, an electric guitar solo of Aydan, the flange to a chorus of her already sparkling and worthy of the most outspoken folk.
03.From Blood To Stone: the song most solemn and melancholy of "Two Poets Tragedy", which is separated from other festive songs of the album, here in particular is a slow and solemn violin to prepare the entry of a slight guitar solo acoustic of Aydan, before the final whisper
04.Ask A Silly Question: if the chorus focuses the energy of the album, then that of "Ask a silly question" that the transport of choral refrain recalls the best moments of "Wyrd", reinforcing the feeling of a music that wants to sing be suspended between happiness and refined, sweet melancholy. A quick and "yelled" chorus, switches to slower moments, in which over the violin is the voice of a Damn varied shades of many.
05.She Lives at Dawn: beautiful interlude, composed of piano, violin and by the warm voice of Damnagoras. An evocative song
06.The Winter Wake (acoustic): the soft piano that opens "The Winter Wake" introduces us in a song more and lesser diluted from the original syncopated and sometimes impetuous. Is the same whisper of Damnagoras as opposed to his counterpart "original" in the closing verse in the title of the song, to be a sign of a different spirit, a spirit that reveals the depth of a song that has still not said something revealing and again highlights the atmosphere more meditative and introspective
07.Heaven is a Place on Earth: extremely catchy chorus, and easily track who is allowed to sing. It 'a cover of Belinda Carlisle. We are not before an attempt poorly managed, and is proof of the good electric guitar solo, probably his atypical is the fact that it is the only real song that deviates from any proximity to folk.
08.My Own Spider’s Web: is perhaps the one song that structurally and for the really intimate atmosphere and marked by percussion discrete, we could call a ballad. This is also the time when, supported by a melting and slow chorus, the violin Elyghen embodies all the sadness and sweetness of which he is capable.
09.Not My Final Song: rhythm scanned, a refrain simple and direct, the voice of Damnagoras, in line with the lyrics, becomes more syncopated, making this the song more "heavy" of the album.
10.The Blackest Of My Hearts: Zender is instead to open, always in cadence, in a slow spiral of slight overlap, the voice changing of Damnagoras intertwined strings of the lyrics, until the explosion of the violin once again, and the bridge that infuses a pace slightly more pronounced in the song. The atmosphere is intimate and at the same solemn.
11.The Wanderer (acoustic): this acoustic version of "The Wanderer" is quite similar to the other original, slightly slower.
12.Miss Conception: but this song close dancing with a very different character: the pace at the beginning becomes more lively, battery resumed it's regular beat and Damnagoras back to revive the track with an approach more Rock.
13.My Little Moon (Digipack Bonus Track): as usual the bonus tracks of Elvenking, can not be called bonus tracks. This is because "My Little Moon" is a ballad sweet and full of emotion, made only by piano and violin, with evocative guitar solo in the final. I'm still wondering why they proposed as a bonus track and not in the official tracklist...
I can only recommend this album, and the entire discography of Elvenking (to fully appreciate this great band) at all, the fans of folk or not. // 8
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