One of the upsides of being a reviewer is you occasionally stumble across unknown little bands which are absolutely amazing. And one such gem I recently came across is TIME OF TALES. Having been formed in Poland in 2009, "Enter the Gates" is the first EP released by the band, and it positively drips potential. Although their music falls well within the category of Folk Metal, other elements do shine through in their music; the guitars in particular often carry a more Death Metal like melody, which is further enhanced by the guttural growling vocals. But this heaviness is tempered by the soaring Folk melodies interwoven by the Flute, with the end result being a well-rounded Folk Metal release.

With a total playtime just over 15 minutes, "Enter the Gates" is a comparatively short EP, comprising just 4 tracks. The title track "Enter the Gates" makes me think of what would happen if you mixed the Jari Maenpaa era of ENSIFERUM with ELUVEITE. My personal favourite track was "Liar" partly due to the catchy melodies, and partly because of the fun composition of the track, which incorporates galloping guitar riffs, drum solos, and raspy vocals, all interlaced together by the captivating lilting flutes. "Warriors of Fire" is also noteworthy in that it has a good guitar solo which does much in adding variety to the track. One of the things I really enjoy about this band is the vocals; whilst many Folk Metal bands use a variety of vocal styles, from female vocals to clean singing to growls, TIME OF TALES just use harsh vocals, thus giving the music a harder sound, putting more emphasis on the Metal part of Folk Metal. Whilst this does mean sacrificing the variance found in other Folk Metal bands, it also sets TALES OF TIME apart.

Perhaps my only critique is that the songs are fairly similar to one another in terms of composition and tempo. Given that this is a short EP, this is not a problem, but this may become somewhat tedious on a full-length album. Nevertheless, considering that this is the very first release by TIME OF TALES, and a self-released one at that, it is an excellent EP. If you're a fan of ELUVEITE, you will most certainly enjoy this latest Folk Metal offering. "Enter the Gates" is a very promising start for a band that has the potential to take the Folk Metal world by storm given a bit of time. I absolutely loved "Enter the Gates", and I can't wait to see what TIME OF TALES accomplish next.

​​