Enthring – The Grim Tales of the Elder CD review

Finland based folk tinged, melodic death metal band Enthring are back with their new album The Grim Tales of the Elder. Taking a more symphonic, power metal orientated approach to their 2010 debut Maelstrom, Enthring are a band who try to make their music sound as large and epic as possible, blowing their music out of proportion – making it sound like Ensiferum on steroids.  With eight ear pounding tracks that total just over 40 minutes, Enthring are a band that band’s such as Amon Amarth, Wintersun and Finntroll need to take heed of, because if Enthring continue to be as amazing as they are on this album, we will soon be seeing their rise to be kings of the genre!

Currently an unsigned band, Enthring have clearly made the best of what they have got when recording The Grim tales of the Elder. The songs sound so professionally recorded on this album, making Enthring seem like they are on Nuclear Blast or AFM records, up there with all the other well noted folk metal bands. But no, Enthring have had no help from the music industry on this album and maybe that is a good thing – for who needs a label when tracks like opening track ‘The Exiled, the driving anthem ‘Rest Me Asunder’ and the rather oriental sounding ‘The Last Heartbeat of an Era’ sound as amazing as they do?

The orchestral parts really add an extra dimension to The Grim Tales of the Elder, making it all the more interesting and adding so much more diversity to the record. It adds a real contrast to the fast paced, power chord based, down tuned guitar lines in the background and the fact that the orchestral parts gel really well with them makes tracks such as ‘Mellowheart’, ‘Citadel’ and the closing instrumental track ‘The Grim Tales of the Elder’ sound like film score music, adding emotion, beauty and flare to this rather aggressive and brutal genre.

There are some tracks on this record that will most definitely ignite a circle pit when played live in concert. Every song on The Grim Tales of the Elder where clearly written with the purpose of being played live and if you haven’t started a circle pit in your own bedroom by the time this album has finished then there must be something wrong with you. It is constantly pacing forward, never stopping, and never halting the aggression and power – 40 minutes of pure melodic death metal mayhem. You have to admire Enthring for wanting to go full out on this record.

This is a record your need in your collection and seen as this is only Enthring’s second album; it is very evident that these guys are going to make it big in the metal scene. Individuality, balls out heaviness and staying clear of a label is what makes Enthring’s, The Grim Tales of the Elder so good, showing that many a band should take a leaf out of this folk metal masterpiece’s book! [8/10]