ELVENKING is an Italian sextet formed in 1997. They are a fusion of Folk, Power, Progressive, and Symphonic Metals, using a variety of styles to support some epic storytelling guaranteed to engage your mind as well as hook your ears. Reader Of The Runes - Rapture, is their 11^th studio album and one of their most ambitious to date. It will be released on April 28, 2023, via AFM Records. The album starts slowly with a nice intro that builds from an acoustic sound to a heavy, electric sound over a full minute, taking the time to ebb and flow in a glorious tide that washes over you with waves of beautiful sound. "Rapture" is an appropriate title for this track as it inspires wonderment and creates a mood that will repeat throughout this journey.

The dual guitar attack is right up front and in your face in "The Hanging Tree." The lead guitar work woven into the riff is excellent, drawing your ear often, holding it tightly as you just lose yourself in the dueling tones and phrases. The bass and drums seem to cavort in this song, not just set a tempo. The patterns are playful and dynamic, making the guitars work to maintain to hold your attention. That is an incredible thing to have happen! "Herdchant" is a heavier song while also being more melodic. The tone and phrasing is dark and alluring while staying well within the folksy theme of the album. The violin gives the entire album a Folk Metal feel, keeping the disc grounded in the bands roots but still allowing the guitars to drive hard in the Power Metal realm.

"Covenant" goes for a more melodic sound in some ways, though the distorted vocals and chants under the lead voice give the song a heavy tone that somewhat offsets the melodic texture. The sheer variety of vocal offerings throughout this record are impressive. Soaring wails, fry vocals, grit and distortion, choirs, this record has it all. Slowing things down, ELVENKING bestows "Red Mist" on us, opening it with a slow, melodic tempo before it builds to the Heavy Metal we love. There are shifts in this song that are very well executed, showing the skill of the musicianship. The complexity of this song makes it one of my favorites on the record even though the whole album is really good. Something about it just hooks me, making me come back to this track over and over.

It seems like "Incantations" is part Power Ballad, part Power Metal, almost like they wanted to keep us on our toes, wondering where the song is going to go next and how it will end. There is no true Power Ballad on this disc, and that is okay. There are elements of that, and I'm happy with how it works. The album concludes with "The Repentant," another song that wavers between melodic and heavy, going back and forth repeatedly, taking us on a journey through the entire spectrum of the ELVENKING sound. Having just crossed the quarter century mark for length of career, they have fully realized their sound. They know what they want to do and how they want to do it. They execute beautifully, giving us a killer album that pleases the ears on so many levels.