ELMSFIRE – Hour of the Wolf review

ELMSFIRE – Hour of the Wolf

Recordjet

http://www.elmsfire.info/houroftheweb/index.php/en/

A band needs team work in order to succeed and it is very usual to see bands delay releasing albums because of this reason. ELMSFIRE, who have impressed me with their debut album which was originally released in 2010 and a few years later through Massacre Records have delayed their sophomore album six years cause of some line-up changes they had. Anyway, here in Greece we say that every obstacle can lead to good things, and I think that this is something that applies to ELMSFIRE since they finally have their sophomore release ready.

It is obviously very hard to create something new, but it is very possible to combine your influences and give them your own personal touch. I think that at least that way you create a recognizable sound. ELMSFIRE, who of course are influenced by bands like RUNNING WILD, IRON MAIDEN and BLIND GUARDIAN manage to do that. Their influences are present and obvious in each song, but nobody can accuse them of being rip offs since all the compositions that are included in the album have their own identity. The characteristic elements of the band’s sound are the melodies which are catchy and easily recognizable. I think that this makes the songs easy to remember. Besides that ELMSFIRE also have a steady and strong rhythm section which supports the melodic elements of their music. Also one other thing that I want to pinpoint is that when the band becomes more emotional it blends in its sound some gothic rock elements (or at least this is the way they sound to me). 

    

ELMSFIRE with their second album show that they have progressed as musicians and matured as composers and they can be proud because they have a sound that can be recognizable. I think that people who are into melodic heavy/power metal need to check these guys out.

Nick “Verkaim” Parastatidis