Week 36: Elvenking - Under the Tree of Us'dum

The artist: Elvenking are a folk/power metal band coming from Italy. They released their debut album Heathenreel in 2001 and have made some changes with their sound throughout the decade. Some have been for the better while others didn't go well with the fans. Heathenreel was straight forward folk/power metal which suited the majority but years later they went a completely direction by adding metalcore influences to their music in The Scythe. Elvenking acknowledged the disappointment from the fans after hearing The Scythe and took a safer path with Two Tragedy Poets by giving it an all-acoustic folk sound.

The album: To Oak Woods Bestowed is Elvenking's demo recordings. Before Heathenreel was released, they had five demo tracks they worked on and three of them made the cut for their debut album. That left with Banquet of Bards and Under the Tree of Us'dum in the dark forever. Well, most likely anyway. These two songs are actually very good and it's a shame they were never included in the release of Heathenreel as both songs would have been great additions to the album. White Willow and Oakenshield demo versions feel less polished than the Heathenreel counterparts while the intro track To Oak Woods Bestowed is an extended version.

The song: Under the Tree of Us'dum is the last track in the demo album. This song shows the most complexity out of the five tracks starting with a majestic intro. There are plenty of tempo changes and some surprising turns. Keep in mind that this is a demo track so the performance is not likely to be top notch and will feel rough. Aydan's vocals still needed some work here and the rhythm isn't timed well for the first half of the song. However, it does feel better later on, particularly with the galloping section. Even if the song feels rough, there are still some fantastic solos found here and the whole song still manages to be catchy. With the tale of a warrior travelling around the land to fight the evil wizard (yeah yeah, clichés). The hero is companioned with the magical tree known as Usdu'm that conquers the evil one once and for all. It's a typical medieval story but it's still a fun one with a fun tune. It's just a shame this never made it to Heathenreel which would have had huge improvements from the demo session.