New Release Friday! As usual, I’m looking forward to listening to all the new albums that just dropped… in like a month. But there is an exception to every rule, and this time it’s Elvenking. The Italian Pagan/folk metal outfit just released Reader Of The Runes – Luna through Reaper Entertainment, the final installment in that trilogy. And let me tell ya. If you’re looking for an epic saga to get you through the rest of the week (and beyond)… you sure found one. The vibes are strong, and it’s energic in all the ways you would want and hope it would be. Aydan (guitars) took some time to respond to our Profile questions and share a little more about this project and this album. Give it a read and be sure to check out some samples from their new album as you go. Enjoy, and happy Friday!

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How and when did you first get into playing music, or metal more specifically, and how did your band get its start? Any pushback from family/those close to you?

Aydan: I started playing music when I was probably 10 or 11 years old because my parents pushed me to play an instrument. I wanted to play the piano but we could not afford to buy or rent one so I went for classical guitar, much easier and cheaper. I completely hated it because I really could not stand the type of music they wanted me to play on it so I quit. Once I started seriously to listen to metal music in 1990 that old crappy guitar was somehow useful to try to reproduce the first riffs on it. From that moment on, I wanted to form my own metal band, but still I perfectly knew I needed to have some specific skills to play this kind of music so I patiently waited until I felt good enough to give it try.

How would you describe your band and what you play to someone who is completely in the dark?

We define ourselves “pagan metal” since the term does not give any specific description of the music. Our influences are so wide that is really difficult to confine us into a specific metal genre, so we use to skip this part. The term Pagan refers mostly to the lyrics, the concept, the visual idea of the band and can be widely give an idea of the music we play.

Is there one (or more) thing about your latest / upcoming album or about your band that no one will find in any interview or review that you care to divulge?

We released the first single out of the new album some weeks ago. The song is “Throes of Atonement” and was chosen by our label and management as first single, but at first me and Damna felt that was not even good enough to be included in the album and we wanted to remove it from the final album tracklist. In the end the track has been welcome pretty ok from the metal audience and we have also opened all the PAGANFEST live concerts with it.

Any funny stories from playing shows / tours / festivals, etc?

There are usually a lot of funny stories but nothing I really can reveal here.

What do you see as some of the great things happening in and around the metal scene (yours or just in general) and what are some of the worst things happening right now?

The greatest thing I can see around is that there is still a lot of people coming to concerts, festivals, live shows etc. We have just ended the Pagan Fest tour and almost every night was sold out. After the COVID 19 pandemic it seemed like the music was come to the its final end, that nobody would have gone to live shows anymore etc. Well we are all proving the contrary.

Worst things is happening in the scene is how the social medias seem to be the mirror of the truth, when most of the times the reality is definetly far from what is shown on Instagram or TikTok.

Most folks have passions for a cause or causes that are close to them. What, if any, are some of the most important issues (social/political/humorous/etc.) for you / your band and how do you insert those issues into your music?

We really do not want our own personal ideas to be mixed with our music and concepts. Especially we do not want to include any political, social or religious idea to be part of our band. Obviously often is inevitable that your way of thinking reflects in the lyrics you write, but we consider ELVENKING as a non – political band and we believe that music needs to be entertainment, helping people to break out from the all-days routine. At least for me music have been always a form of healing and escape from the ordinary life.

Do you have day jobs or hobbies you want to share?

I am an architect. I graduated in architecture many years ago and I own a studio taking care of big buildings engineering and management.

What advice do you have for music critics and outlets out there? How can we all better serve the genre in the eyes of a hard-working musician?

I believe – but this is just my personal opinion – that nowadays metal is more about the aspect, the cosplay, the laser shooting dinosaurs and weird stuff like this – more than about the quality of music and of the lyrics and messages, as was back in the days when I started listening to this kind of music; exactly for its incredible way to communicate, capacity of healing and becoming an haven from every day life. I believe most of this got wasted in the last years and I feel a bit lost in this new way to conceive metal music. Luckily there are still a lot of bands that like us, that are still looking at the 80s and 90s
metal as a road to follow.

Any specific long term goal(s) in mind?

At this age long terms goals are gone and we are living our adventures day by day, taking what it arrives with light heart. Obviously we always look towards the best possible but we are not despairing if something won’t come as we expected.

When you’re not obsessing over your own material, what are some of your favorite albums to listen to currently?

We are rarely obsessed by our own material. Usually we do not listen to our own music a lot to be sincere. At the moment I am pretty into the new The Halo Effect album. Just amazing!

What is the near future outlook for you or your band? Any specific events on the horizon that the masses should be aware of?

Well, we have just return home from a very long and exhausting PaganFest tour with Alestorm, Ensiferum, Tye and Heidvolk and it was such an amazing experience. We really need to recharge the batteries now though. A number of festivals are on the horizon and a Japan tour. Also maybe I can anticipate a very special release that will close the reader of the Runes chapter, with some special features, but cannot say more at the moment.

Summarize your band in one word.

Recognizable.

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Many thanks to Aydan and Elvenking for the time!

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Reader Of The Runes – Luna is out now through Reaper Entertainment. For more information on Elvenking, head over to their website.