Photo: Cunene
When it comes to melodic power/folk metal, Italian band Elvenking has been a reliable force on the scene. Reader of the Runes – Luna is the newest studio record – the completion of a trilogy saga that started in 2019 with Divination to continue in 2023 with Rapture. Listeners can enjoy a thrilling aural odyssey that captivates in atmosphere, moodiness, as well as expressive storylines and songwriting that intrigues from first note to last. We reached out to vocalist Damna to fill us in on the massive work behind these records, switching labels, the importance of Skyclad as an influence on the group, the band / work balance that has to be achieved, how satisfaction matters more than success, and festival / tour plans.
Dead Rhetoric: Reader of the Runes – Luna is the latest Elvenking album – and the final installment of this trilogy of records that started back in 2019 with Divination. Where do you see this record sitting not only in terms of the storyline, but also the Elvenking discography?
Damna: Well, yes, first of all it’s the conclusion of a trilogy. It stands as the real conclusion of this journey that we started back with the Divination album. Musically – this trilogy was partly driven by what the lyrics and the story are telling. We needed to have the right atmosphere and the right mood for each of the three parts. Music that could really go with the story, the ups and the downs of the whole trilogy. This third part – if part two was more violent and much heavier, and more tragic musically, this one deals with two great moods that the story goes through. One is a bit more light-hearted side; we go into the past of the characters when they were kids. The music goes with that, a bit more melodic, I wouldn’t say happy, more light-hearted. At the same time, we have a more melancholic side, because there are tragic moments, we explain why everything happens. Why in part two things went so bad, so violently. We have this balance between those two moods.
Dead Rhetoric: One of the songs I was most impressed with on this record is the 11-minute plus “Reader of the Runes – Book II” – which includes some orchestration as well as blasting sections. How did this track come about, as you said in your background information that you wanted to have an epic that reminds people of the greats like Iron Maiden and Blind Guardian as examples?
Damna: Yes, we’ve always been fans of long, epic songs in metal. Throughout all of our career, we’ve tried to compose some longer songs. We did that on The Pagan Manifesto with “King of the Elves”, and we did it again on the first part of the trilogy of the Divination album. We really needed a conclusion of the whole story, and we needed to do it with another long, epic track. Including all of the soundscapes of our sound, and the moods that the story was going through. It’s not easy to do this. It doesn’t come out all the times that we want (it too). We stood there, me and Aydan, and wrote all the parts to try to fit them together. We wanted to conclude the story in a way that it has to be.
Dead Rhetoric: When it comes to developing a longer concept such as this, how does the songwriting develop over time? Are you consistently in work mode or do you have to build in certain breaks to remain objective about what needs to be accomplished for the greater good of the final output?
Damna: It’s been pretty difficult, to tell you the truth. When we started thinking about a concept album, or even a trilogy as it turned out to be, we probably didn’t know the quantity of work that we would have to go through in order to have the story that is consistent and goes well with the music. It’s really hard. If it was easier on the first part, because we developed that part of the story, but then after part one we had to write part two and part three. It was difficult to really know how the second part would sound and the same for part three, with a certain anticipation. It was the pandemic, and that gave us the chance to write all of the songs for part two and part three. We had the chance to split the songs on the right albums, a right time to develop the lyrics. That was really useful, and definitely important for the development of these two albums.
Dead Rhetoric: What makes fantasy, mythology, and medieval themes ideal subject matter to draw from within the Elvenking lyrical landscape? Do you enjoy transporting the listeners away from their normal daily lives to experience something out of the ordinary?
Damna: Yes, definitely. It has been since day one that we’ve wanted to write lyrics and play music that could give our listeners a bit of a break from the real world. But still keeping contact with reality. We are not dealing with totally fantasy themes, but we like to dress them in an unnatural entity. The meaning of our music since day one has been to get out of this hell for a little while. It’s been very important.
Also with this trilogy, we are telling a tale that’s not real. We have influences from a million things, we are avid readers of books, folktales, we watch tons of movies. We had a lot of things that influenced us in writing this story. For Elvenking it’s very important to do this. We would never sing about politics or explicitly talk about our real lives. The same reason why we don’t use our real names, it’s a bit of detachment from the real world, to help us go through every day life.
Dead Rhetoric: After being a part of the AFM Records roster for quite a long time, you moved over to Reaper Entertainment. Why did the record label change take place, and do you feel confident in the staff and promotional team at Reaper Entertainment to push Elvenking properly?
Damna: We had to change because from early 2025, AFM is not releasing new albums anymore and they are becoming a back catalog label. We really needed to find someone else for the future. Even if AFM was supposed to release this last album, we still thought it would be important for us to search for a new team that could give 100% effort for this album. That’s what we did, we talked a lot and managed to get out of AFM on friendly terms. We’ve been with the label since 2001. Nowadays, not even one person we knew from the beginning of our contract is still working with AFM anymore. We needed to find someone who could really focus on Elvenking. In the end Reaper Entertainment, Florian gave us the idea that they would take care of us. The first steps into this new contract are giving us 100% confirmation of that. We love working with them, they are doing all that is possible, all that is in their means on the album. We are doing a lot of things with them; we really love working with them and it’s definitely the right choice for Elvenking at this point in our career.
Dead Rhetoric: What are some of your memories surrounding your appearance at Progpower USA XXII in 2023? How did it feel to play for such a passionate audience?
Damna: Oh, it’s amazing. We’ve played there two times; I have great memories of both. This last time was even better, we are a different band now. That festival is special, it’s a little bit like the 70K Tons of Metal. You see a community there, and they really care about watching all the bands and hanging around. It’s like a familiar feeling; it’s not like the usual festival. That’s what I love about these happenings.
Dead Rhetoric: Can you discuss the importance of a veteran act like Skyclad to Elvenking, and what their style has brought to the table that influences what you’ve taken further through your work as a band? Do you have a specific album or two of theirs that connect to you best?
Damna: Yeah, Skyclad was one of the main influences for Elvenking at the very beginning. When we started, the classics like Iron Maiden, Metallica, all the great bands, we were all metal fans when we were kids. As we were approaching more of the sub-genres in the early 90s, we were fascinated by a certain kind of sound and Skyclad were a big part of that. They were mixing this kind of old-style thrash metal with folk tunes with the violin, and amazing lyrics by Martin Walkyier. It took people down Pagan paths; it blew our minds. When we discussed our sound, the first rehearsals playing together, we really thought that we should do something that may not be totally original, but personal at least. They were a big example for us. My favorite albums are A Burnt Offering for the Bone Idol and Jonah’s Ark, but I also love Prince of the Poverty Line. This kind of mix was the best.
We played some gigs over the years with Skyclad – and we also had the chance to host Martin with some shows, we played some Skyclad songs, and he ended up singing with us. Three of those shows happened throughout our career, it’s been amazing.
Dead Rhetoric: What qualities do you attribute to the staying power of the band – as you have been in existence since the late 90s? How important are band chemistry, friendships, and an understanding of the players as individuals to achieve what you set out to do as a group?
Damna: It’s really important. We’ve had a lot of lineup changes through the years, but that’s mainly because these band members changed their lives. They didn’t have the time to really give 100% to the band, that’s why we’ve had those changes. At our level, as a mid-tier band as we are, we all have regular jobs, and we really need to be focused on the band as well. You are either committed to this where you have your job and you have to think about (the music side) pretty much all the time, the free time that you have. If you are committed, it’s working or it’s really not working. All of the touring, recording, writing, that’s all done in our spare time, our free time. As you said, you need to be a band, united if you want to do this thing and really consistent in what you do or else you’ll fall to pieces. It’s really important.
Nowadays we have a lineup that’s pretty solid. Our drummer Symohn came back after leaving for an album, now things are really good with him. We have had a new guitar player for a couple of years, HeadMatt is very young but enthusiastic and he is bringing a bit of that freshness that we needed. A bit younger than us too, so it’s really good.
Dead Rhetoric: Is that why you had to step away from Hell in the Club after being with that band for 15 years, because of the time you devote to Elvenking and the personal/ career aspirations you have?
Damna: Yeah. By splitting myself in two bands, it was very difficult. I tried to when I was not working for Elvenking to do the Hell In the Club thing. At a certain point, things were starting to go at the same time. I really said to the other guys, either we take a break, or I have to leave. Because I was going crazy, basically. Too much stuff to do and a lot of commitment. I will just focus on one thing. It has to be at my pace.
Dead Rhetoric: Are there specific goals or bucket list items you want to achieve and accomplish – either within the Elvenking framework or other things as a musician – that you haven’t been able to achieve as of yet? Maybe countries / territories to play, festivals, or other exploration musically?
Damna: With Elvenking, yeah there are still some festivals and countries that we haven’t played in. And we are looking forward to it. It’s always in development. We have done things that we never would have expected, or had the chance to do. The last two tours we’ve made – the last North American tour last April, and this huge Paganfest tour we did in Europe. You don’t expect it, and things end up happening. The band is still growing after all these years, these are some of the best moments that we’ve had since the late 90s. I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen without any big request. It’s good to see what will come.
I really probably need to play some extreme metal in my life before I close with music. That’s one of the things on my bucket list that I still have to check off.
Dead Rhetoric: How do you define success – and has that definition changed from when you first started as a musician to where you are at today?
Damna: Success is a word I don’t like so much. Most of the time it’s associated with things I don’t like. I never see our path or our career with the goal of success as many other bands do. Because I just feel that when we are playing the music that we love and we have the chance to do that, in such amazing situations as we are doing today, that is making me satisfied. I would substitute the word success with satisfaction. I consider myself successful as long as I am satisfied with what I am doing. I don’t see Elvenking ever setting the bar of we have to sell this number of copies (of a record), (attain) this number of listeners on Spotify – because this can be the outer measure of success for the band. I really don’t care about that. I feel like if we are still playing, and feeling good doing it, that’s great.
Dead Rhetoric: If you had the power to transport yourself to another era, another realm, to live in the past and experience things first hand – where would you choose to go and what would you like to see, do and experience?
Damna: That’s a good question. There would be many places I would love to check out. I don’t know. Any place but the actual current years. I would get away from the future as far as possible. I really love it when music was appreciated in a different way. Not with all these digital platforms and social media. I would go back to the 70s or 80s, and be like an adult because I was a child in the early 80s. I would go back to those years and see how it was. Live with all these possibilities and the musical moments.
Dead Rhetoric: What’s in store for Elvenking activities as far as touring, festivals, etc. for the rest of 2025 going into next year?
Damna: Well, we have some festivals already booked in Europe. We have Summer Breeze, Into the Grave, a summer festival in the Czech Republic. It’s going to be an interesting summer. We will start playing some new songs. We are talking Japan and probably some more North American touring at the end of this year, or early next year. These are the plans.