Band:	Elvaron
Album:	The Buried Crown
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	April 01, 2005
A review by:	Jeff

01. Siren's Call... The Void
02. Warhead
03. Sea Of Hate
04. King Of Thylia - Part I
05. King Of Thylia - Part II
06. King Of Thylia - Part III
07. Ghouls Of Time
08. Dark Whispers
09. Witch Of The Forest
10. The Buried Crown
11. One Last Season
12. The Heroes' Tale

"The Buried Crown" is the new album of the French Prog-Metallers of Elvaron. I must admit that I was awaiting this album a lot, actually I discovered this band last year through the re-edition of their first album "The Fives Shires" and I was really amazed by the quality and the maturity of the music of this young French band. Now this is the time to do the review of their new release, which can be considered like the confirmation of the great talent of Elvaron.

"The Buried Crown" is, one more time with Elvaron, a great release. I'm serious when I say that it can be considered like the real confirmation of the band. If their first album was really impressive regarding the maturity and the talent of the band, this one will show you that this same first release was not just a lucky first try? One more time, "The Buried Crown" is a pure Heroic Fantasy conceptual album, like "The Fives Shires" and that's actually the 3rd act of the story of "Raislin" (an original story created by the band). One more time, Matthieu Morand and his band mates did a really nice work of writing with the texts of the album, but this time this is definitely darker and even a bit sad and gothic (not in the musical style but in the spirit). The general ambiance is catchy of course but I don't have the same feeling this time, I don't have this feeling that we have with a lot of classic Heavy Metal bands which sing Fantasy stories, in "The Buried Crown" all that is really deeper and darker.

Musically that's also a bit different, this time the band chose to use a real classical orchestra with Cello, Violin, French horn... Elvaron was already really inspired by classical music but the compositions on "The Buried Crown" are now absolutely linked with this music and that's a good thing. All the songs are a lot more complex but catchy and not boring. I must also say that the band wanted to add a female singer Lindsay but the "Nightwish phenomenon" was not good for the band and at the end Lindsey was only chosen to become the Keyboardist of the band. I'm maybe the only one who will say that, but thank a lot guys, you absolutely understand how it works right now and you just avoided to fall into this commercial cliché of the "female singer" and it only shows us that how this band manage its career and does the right choice.

With a nice production, and a very good sound, a lot better than the one on "The Fives Shires" and with the help of a good label Manitou/Thundering, I'm sure that this new album will help Elvaron to reach the top of the list of the Progressive French bands. The 3rd act of the story of Raislin is really well done, and I'm sure that Elvaron will win now the respect that they deserve. At least "The Buried Crown" is a really beautiful album of Progressive Metal and all the fans of this music will have to buy it for sure. If I was you, in any case I would like to miss it?.