Elvenking is an Italian Folk/Power Metal band that was formed way back in 1997 when “folk metal” wasn’t actually a genre. Well you did have “Skyclad” back then but folk metal wasn’t still the genre that’s filled up to the brim as it is now.

Elvenking has always strived hard to fuse metal and folk music to create something so heavenly that you ears will probably explode from the awesomeness. Their 2010 release “Red silent tide” is an infectious album which oozes the folk infused metal which they are known for.

We happened to catch up with Aydan, guitarist for Elvenking and this is how it went :

Hi Aydan, How is it going ?

Good man, quite good actually.  We are quite happy with how things are going right now and excited seeing the support from our fans.

14th year for Elvenking. Isn’t that huge? How has the journey been so far?

It’s been a hell of a ride! Being in a band it is really an adventure that can bring you a lot of different emotions, a lot of ups as well as a lot of downs. Looking back to what we have done I cannot feel but proud , especially because we started as 5 kids in a small Italian village, in a country where at the time there were no chance to do anything good in this music.

Your music is a mix of unique styles and ideas. It always sounds so fresh and pure. How do you guys always manage to do that?

Yes, and the best thing is when someone underlines the fact that our music sounds fresh and unique. Obviously nowadays it is impossible to use the word “originality” but our goal is always to create something unique and especially something that somehow can touch the heart of the listener, with different emotions.

I guess that this is the most important part of our music, emotions, and trying to capture a lot of different colors and waves to them . This makes our music so different but at the same time following the same path album after album.

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“The Scythe” is your heaviest track(I think) and a great guitar solo you got going there too. I love it just as much as “The Cabal”. Do you think Elvenking should do more of such songs or can we expect more tracks like that in future?

For sure “The scythe” is a heavy track. “The cabal” is from our last album “Red Silent Tides” and as you can hear sounds different from “The scythe” since it is a kind of a power ballad, but probably you can feel the same kind of emotional side in the two tracks.

You cannot expect something sure from ELVENKING because you know that every album is different; but at the moment we are working on the new songs for next album and we are coming out with something damn heavy!

What musical direction is the next album going to take?

It is still too early to tell exactly how it is gonna be, but for sure the first songs that we are working on are pretty heavy, but at the same time still with a lot of melodies and romanticism.

When you aren’t recording,touring or rehearsing, what do you guys do?

We have also some so called normal jobs when we do not play, but our passion is in music, recording new stuff and playing around every time we can.

You got shows coming up towards the end of the month in Bergamo, Pisa and Bologna and also in the UK in January right? That must be exciting.

Yes, since we are working on the new album songs and our last album “Red Silent Tides” is out since mid 2010, we decided to do some selected shows in order to celebrate the 10 years from our first album “Heathenreel.”

Yes, it is already 10 years since we appeared on the market, back in 2001! And what best occasion to do a number of selected shows as birthday gift to us and to the fans. Obviously we’re going to play a special setlist with a lot of songs from that album and other that we have never or rarely played live. It’s going to be something really special.

Are you getting interviewed for the first time for your Indian fans? How does it make you feel to know about your fan following in India?

If I remember correctly I did another interview with an Indian magazine in the past but I am not 100% sure! By the way it is amazing that our music somehow has reached your country. It would be amazing to have the possibility to play in India sooner or later.

Thanks so much for your time Aydan. Any message for our readers?

If someone wants to experience a music full of poetry and emotions but still heavy and aggressive, you should give a listen to Elvenking. We really hope to have the possibility to come there and play in India soon!

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