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Enter this final instalment of one of the most epic sagas in the history of heavy metal!

The runes are cast – our fate is sealed: With a triumphant strike, Elvenking end their “Readers of the Runes” trilogy on a high note, mastering the thin red line between hope and darkness. Who is this enigmatic Reader of the Runes? Who will withstand the fall of idols? Enter this final instalment of one of the most epic sagas in the history of heavy metal and let it take you somewhere far beyond, hearkening back to the long lost age of immersive album culture.

Unlike so many lacklustre endings to trilogies in popular culture, Elvenking know how to live up to the promises made by the first two instalments: After “Divination” (2019) and “Rapture” (2023), the Italian fantasy metal wizards are hitting home hard with “Reader of the Runes – Luna”, showing once and for all how to end things with style, grandeur and monumental bravado. The best comes last, as they say, and while Elvenking already excited and enthralled the world of heavy metal with part one and two, they are well aware that they haven’t even come close to shooting all their bolts and revealing all the tricks up their sleeves. “We do not want to reveal now how the story ends and solve all the enigmas to the mysteries told in the previous two chapters, but for sure in this chapter everything will be disclosed,” founder and guitarist Aydan promises. “We will finally find out who the Reader of the Runes really is and what links all the eight characters of the story.” About time!
Few bands out there today are able to create such a spellbinding atmosphere, delivering a direct gateway into another world, filled with tales, wonder and soaring melodies. “In this last chapter, we are back to our more usual folky and melodic approach where also our fans will probably found themselves more at home,” Aydan states. “The epic finale of the story is the revelation of all the mysteries, and we wanted the music for this chapter to be romantic and melancholic, yet still intense and super epic.”

After more than five years in this enchanted universe, Elvenking are bringing it all home in one last epic flourish. “We really couldn’t wait to get to the end of this long journey,” lead singer Damna says with a relieved smile. “We are talking about this story and these characters since 2018 so we really needed to see the whole story take shape once and for all. We are very proud of this complicated work and are happy of how it turned out in the end.” They should be: On “Reader of the Runes – Luna”, Elvenkings blend the triumphant, medieval surge of the first part with the brooding and dark menace that is “Rapture”, creating larger than life anthems that transport the listener deep into enchanted woods where owls guide the chosen ones through the murmuring trees to the source of all magic.
That’s only possible because Elvenking are masterful minstrels and skilful storytellers, weaving their tales of sorrow and woe, of hope and powerful spells, into our world like the norns from Norse mythology. Sadly, not many bands understand heavy metal in the way Elvenking do – not only delivering touching music but creating a whole fictional universe around it. Total immersion, nothing less. Epitome for all this is the monumental 11 minute closer “Reader of the Runes – Book II”. They just don’t make them like that any more. “We craved a song with the structural complexity and epic feeling of the great metal songs of yore,” says Damna. “When you listened to songs like ‘To Tame a Land’, ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ or ‘Alexander the Great’ it was like entering a world, or a book and being part of those epic moments as they were perfectly portrayed by the music. Something similar happened with Blind Guardian with their lyrics coming from J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. Songs like “Imaginations from the Other Side”, “Somewhere Far Beyond” or “Mirror Mirror” had the power of taking you far with your imagination.”

Likes echoes from a twilight world, reminiscences of Maiden, early Blind Guardian or In Flames roam through their music without deducting anything from the sheer originality emanating from these songs. Ever more the masters in combining catchy tunes and huge choruses with intricate fantasy atmosphere and expansive instrumental parts, Elvenking prove to be a natural successor of metal high wizards such as Helloween, Avantasia or their biggest influence Skyclad, successors to the throne. And the large arenas, at that.

“Reader of the Runes – Luna” has all the makings of a great record, showcasing Elvenking at their most versatile yet. “Conceptually we are going back in time, to when things were more light-hearted for all of the characters, all the way to the tragic moment that determined the main cause of the whole story,” Damna states. And he means it: Blazing, uplifting lead single “Throes of Atonement”, quasi title track “Luna” or the smashing “Gone Epoch” are prime examples of the carefree, folksy side of affairs while menacing bangers like “The Ghosting”, “On these Haunted Shores” or “The Weeping” are musically underlining the more tragic, epic and sad passages of this dramatic story.
In their sagas, Elvenking evoke the sense of another world, transporting us into a fantasy realm where the moon sings to you, strange creatures bathe in starlight and magic is everywhere. Not many bands are able to pull that off any more. “We miss the way music and especially metal were conceived though,” Aydan tells us. “Times when the discovery and the sharing were a big part of the game without all of the digital and the social media aspects.” Elvenking take care of that. By single-handedly bringing back magic and wonder into the world of heavy metal.