War

I can’t help but feel a little sorry for Elwing. You see, they play power metal and are from Greece. Anyone who follows the semi-underground power metal scene knows that Greece is now rivaling Italy in terms of being home to a sea of mediocre releases. To be fair, of course there is some decent stuff pouring out of the country, but when I see another power metal release by a Greek band, I sort of prepare myself for the worst. However, of all the Greek bands I’ve had pleasure (or displeasure, in many cases) of hearing, Elwing is my favorite.

What sets them apart from the horde of other bands is a true folk influence. How many bands have you seen claim to have a folk influence in their sound? I don’t know what some people consider “folk” these days, but I simply do not hear it in a lot of these supposed “folk-influenced” discs. In stark contrast, Elwing certainly does have that slight influence. Not as overt as, say, Elvenking, it nonetheless is just enough to help separate these guys from the pack. Add to that the unique voice of singer Sakis Koutsasis – he employs a much deeper, forceful approach – and you get a band that deserves to be more popular, and probably would be if not for the utter inundation of the power metal scene by all those Greek snoozers.

I’d been contemplating for some time whether to get this band’s 2001 debut, “Immortal Stories”. After hearing “War”, I’m definitely going to track it down. Elwing certainly know the benefit of compact songwriting. No song seems long just for the sake of being long – the lengthiest track on here is just over six minutes, and that’s a slower semi-ballad. The rest are all around four to five minutes, the perfect song length for this type of music. As for the band itself, the guitar-work in particular is great. Lots of melodic leads mixed with chunky (in a good way) riffing. For a change, we can also hear the bass very clearly, though that’s somewhat a double-edged sword. For some reason, the production, as good as it is, is almost too bass-heavy (when’s the last time you read that about a power metal album?). The drumming is as expected – plenty of double bass and the like, all the while keeping things super-tight. These guys are obviously talented, so the only remaining hurdle is writing good songs.

Thankfully, “War” is full of good tunes. Each of them sports a simultaneous mix of various feelings – folk, traditional, Viking, battle – that blend together oh so well. This is so much more than just standard power metal. The choruses are especially epic, thanks in no part to the aforementioned vocal delivery of the singer. He sounds nothing like the army of generic, warbling European singers that have polluted the genre. Sounding instead like a cross between Lemmy, Chris Boltendahl, and Tom Englund, Koutsasis is a refreshing change of pace and the cherry on top, if you will. Once in a while he’ll strain just a wee bit, but it’s never too noticeable. Check out killer songs like the opener, “Marching to Glory”, or the magnificent instrumental title track.

Honestly, I don’t see how fans of any type of power metal couldn’t enjoy Elwing at least a little bit. They play it close enough to the vest to not alienate fans, but at the same time manage to stand out from the crowd. If you’re looking for something new and exciting in the power metal field, give Elwing a shot. This band deserves to be bigger than they are.