Band:	Elvenking
Album:	Two Tragedy Poets (...And A Caravan Of Weird Figures)
Style:	Folk metal, Power metal
Release date:	November 14, 2008
Guest review by:	Ernis

01. The Caravan Of Weird Figures
02. Another Awful Hobs Tale
03. From Blood To Stone
04. Ask A Silly Question
05. She Lives At Dawn
06. The Winter Wake [acoustic version]
07. Heaven Is A Place On Earth [Belinda Carlisle cover]
08. My Own Spider's Web
09. Not My Final Song
10. The Blackest Of My Hearts
11. The Wanderer [acoustic version]
12. Miss Conception
13. My Little Moon [digipack bonus]
14. Skywards [2008 version] [Japanese bonus]

How nice to hear a well-done album. Even nicer if one has been expecting the album. And it is even more nice if the album is the work of a group that has released good works before and exceeds the predecessors in some way. Here we have "Two Tragedy Poets (...And A Caravan Of Weird Figures)", the newest and predominantly acoustic work of the Italian folklore act.
I have been following Elvenking's work and doings since 2004 when I heard their "Wyrd" which was outstanding. Their next album "Winter Wake" was also promising but after "The Scythe" I lost the interest I previously had since that album seemed a bland unsuccessful attempt to deviate from their trademark folklorist style.

Nevertheless, Elvenking are back now with "TTP(AACOWF)", a beautiful release it is. The music in the introduction track strongly reminds of the Irish groups Mael Mordha and Cruachan, a refreshing aspect, since Elvenking seems to be adding some smoother and milder "island" Celtic feeling to their own sharper and jumpier "continental" folk style. The overall atmosphere the album evokes is colourful, even more colourful in places than some previous releases had (although no other song by them has yet managed to exceed their "Seasonspeech"). The acoustic side of the album is its greatest trump, the instrumental composition of the songs and the performance are so ripe and mellow that no other things are needed here. Damnagoras with his characteristic snappy "hobbit" vocals brings life to the songs which are surely loved by all those fantasy fans out there. I only wonder how much the previous singer Kleid or the female vocalists Laura, Giada and Pauline would add to the music had they been asked to contribute for this album. I have not lost the hope of hearing all of them again cooperating with this band in the future and also hope for the next release to follow this one in its quality and style.

The album's composition is good. The faster and catchier songs are balanced with the slower and more contemplative tracks. The most outstanding songs from the album include "Another Awful Hobs Tale" with it's introduction, the brilliant "Ask A Silly Question", the slap-in-the-face energetic and straightforward "Not My Final Song", passionate "My Own Spider's Web" and the fine "Miss Conception". The acoustic versions of "The Wanderer" and "The Winter Wake" are also two pearls of the release not to speak of the bold and brilliantly executed cover of Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven Is A Place On Earth". There is so much positive about this album that it is impossible and meaningless to express it all in the form of some list. Folklore fans will most probably adore this album. Elvenking set the bar really high for themselves this time and for the joy of themselves and all the audiences they successfully got over it. Waiting for them to impose new higher standards with their releases in the future as well.