Teutonic metal from France? That's what Elvenstorm got to offer, in short. The band formed in 2008, released a demo in 2010, and their debut came out in 2011 through old school metal label Infernö records.

What is remarkable about Elvenstorm, is that the vocals are handled by Laura Ferreux. Females are a minority in heavy metal genre. She has quite a soaring voice, from mid-to-high register. Plus, it is characteristic and not another Doro clone. Her highest screams are pretty awesome, which is only truly utilized on the closer, sadly! I have one problem with vocals, and it is the pronunciation: "Heaven" sounds like "eaven" and "hell" like "ell". Every word starting with a "h" sounds like its starting letter was never pronounced. It just is so coherent, that I cannot get over the feeling of annoyance about it. And I really see it as a con. Well, her French accent shows best on slower songs, such as 'Struggle Within'. It's always the same problem with non-English speaking bands, but sometimes it's bad, sometimes fitting (like with Rotting Christ, for example). This time it's not a good thing. The lyrical themes are e.g. war, witches, revenge behind a grave, and heavy metal.

The music is about Teutonic metal, as mentioned earlier. Bands such as Running Wild, Gamma Ray, Primal Fear and Grave Digger come to mind frequently when listening to 'Of Rage & War'. Sometimes, hints from other, non-Teutonic bands are heard (e.g. the good old Iron Maiden). Power metal and heavy metal united in predominantly fast tempos. A lot of double kick drum barrage is heard throughout the album. Between it and sung parts, it's time for melodic lead guitars and solos. They fit in, but I wouldn't mind them being longer in duration. Well, as the record's title says, this is about "rage", not about "grandeur". However, slower song 'Struggle Within' happens to be a throwaway track. All in all, the songs are forged from the same steel, and other kind of metals would have been more than welcome. It simply gets too familiar on many occasions.

At the best, the band is in a very fine form and attack like no tommorow. It's really ballsy and elaborately performed during these "warp spasm" (do a search for the term if you do not know it, please) stages. The production sounds archaic, in a way, but with today's punch. I'm not meaning any modern stylings kind of punch, but the sound kicks ass. And at the same time sounding like a 1980s album. Every instrument sounds fantastic. The drums sounds real and thunderous. The bass is clanking like Steve Harris' at times, and the guitars are sharp. This is filled with nuances, unlike modern, machiney and compressed productions are. Glossy covers look good, giving this a bit of that dignified look.

The album could be invigorating at best, but also boring. So, there's right time to listen to this. The band are still in their early stages, and there is no real charisma in them. The vocalist Laura Ferreux is a real disparity between Elvenstorm and bands of the same ilk. I believe they could stand towards to be more characteristic. 'Of Rage & War' is a good start, but only a good one. But many similar bands don't get even close to good, so...

Rating: 7+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
03/06/2012 15:43