ELF QUEEN is a power, pop metal duo from Los Angeles, California. Their debut full-length album, "Glory to the Brave," was released on October 31, 2021 and is promoted by Against PR. By all standards, the album functions as a demo-the production is poor, the songwriting borders on juvenile, the musicianship is mediocre . . . but the vocals are pretty damned good-under the right conditions, this could be a maybe decent album. Under the current conditions, not so much.

A little bit of scratching reveals that Uncle Hauk is also singer/songwriter Hauk who has a short string of independent releases, some faux folk metal, some Americana acoustic-essentially just a musician playing and recording what he digs, which is cool. His passion for the craft seems to outstrip his talent, but at least he's giving it a go. Kelsey clearly has been in front of the mic before and is bristling with potential. There's a Symphonic Metal band out there looking for her right now.

"Glory to the Brave" is also the title of HAMMERFALL's debut album. I have to believe that ELF QUEEN knew that and see this as kind of a tribute. After all, they also give a nod to RJD with "Queen of the Silver Mountain" . . . and then there is the fact that RJD's first band was ELF, etc., etc., etc. ELF QUEEN's "Glory to the Brave" lasts for nine tracks, clocking out at about 45 minutes. The album is easily 15 minutes too long. Almost every song could be trimmed to something more essential. Lyrically, it's overwrought love songs with a medieval flare-though I did like the line "We are blind but not bereaved / We are deaf but not deceived" ("Glory to the Brave").  Again, there is some potential here, but if they want to do more than play at local gaming cons or the Renaissance fair, they'll have to get a lot more serious about who they want to be when they grow up.

I get the feeling that ELF QUEEN is a one-off project, but you never know. I am hoping that we at least hear from Kelsey again, perhaps fronting a band or participating in a project/collective that can give her a more significant platform to showcase her abilities. If it's her ambition, I think she can find an audience in either the Folk Metal or Symphonic Metal scenes.