RSS Feed


ELVENSTORM
The Conjuring

Massacre (2018)
Rating: 7/10

Here’s album number three from French metallers Elvenstorm. The Conjuring has been three years in the making after 2015’s Soulreaper EP, and it’s a record you’ll enjoy if you’re a fan of this rather glossy, well-produced metal.

Elvenstorm are very much a contemporary heavy metal band, having formed in 2008, but they still offer plenty of meat in the axe and percussive attacks – opener ‘Bloodlust’ begin a fast-paced, energetic metal bone shaker with plenty of vibrancy and a commanding chanted chorus.

My only issue with these guys right from the start has been the vocals of Laura Lombard F. Although I like her as a singer, she just seems to lack the oomph required to match the guile and fleshy force of the rest of the band. Laura just isn’t a powerhouse of a vocalist, and it’s immediately apparent on that thrashy opener and throughout as the rest of the members rush through such hasty highlights as ‘Into The Night’, ‘Evil’s Dawn’ and ‘Dawn Of Destruction’ – all rather frantic expressions screaming out for a fleshier vocal tone.

Laura does come into her own on some of the steadier grooves. For instance, on ‘Ritual Of Summoning’ she seems to find an inner fire rarely present elsewhere on the record. Although her vocals tend to be of a higher pitch, Laura really should emit a few more scowls too to create a darker edge. However, The Conjuring is still a steady Goth-laced heavy metal opus moulded by Michaël Hellström’s sturdy axe work and Antoine Bussière’s bony skin slams.

Other positives are the mid-paced strides of ‘Stellar Descension’ which also features an almost black metal-styled flicker of energy, while ‘Cross Of Damnation’ begins with a subtle trickle before the members join to create a blistering attack. And that’s what I like about this record – it’s simple ability to carve out huge lumps of molten metal. Sure, it’s clean-cut and precise which at times can overwhelm any flicker of rawness or looseness, but if you’re after ten solid fireballs to chew on then spit out then you could do far worse.

The Conjuring does offer that glint of modern metal steel we can all appreciate; it doesn’t feel mechanical and it will get heads banging because it’s jam-packed full of killer melodies and metallic bursts of speed that can’t really be argued with. However, I’d still like to hear more emphasis on vocal prowess and maybe less sheen throughout.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share