I remember the time when I first stumbled upon the Elfion profile. The first sound to reach my ears was the opening roar of their rock-solid, incredible epic, 'Realm of the Emerald Knight'. Just as Maiden's 'Caught Somewhere In Time' so wonderfully ties together the spirit of its respective album, or the 'Overture' from the Who's 'Tommy' leaves you spellbound and awestruck, 'Realm of the Emerald Knight' leaves your ears ringing and your shocked skull eagerly awaiting the next sonic onslaught. It sums up Elfion's amazing unity, power, and spirit. Not to be overlooked are Andy's savage and perfectly wild rhythms, which complement a song that is superbly written and arranged. In essence, it is a veritable tempest of a shock-and-awe lurcher that is bound together with the artists' fluidity and proficiency. It's not hard to imagine where great elven warriors fit in to the songs. The music is wonderfully adept at portraying the lyrics; art in its rawest, most inspired form.

The Tolkien-esque subject matter adds wonderfully to the effect this music has on you. Often I listen to metal to "get away from it all", to bring myself to a magical, but also a war-torn, rich, epic setting, where the metal gods rule. It is a theme that one can easily get carried away with.

Next, the enthralling, more progressive 'Wolf Rider'; an elaborate set of exotic, intoxicating riffs that whisk you off to a far away land. It features superb, sweeping guitar work by Dave and Anthony's breathless, exciting vocals, a call to arms. Ready to pounce in the blink of an eye, it feels tense and on-edge, almost putting you in the shoes of the infamous elven zealot. It utilizes wonderfully unique scales and forms and seems to give a tip of the hat to traditional, south-of-the-border style music with a syncopated, wailing guitar solo at the climax and at the "calm before the storm".

And finally, what is in my mind one of the most extraordinary pieces I've had the pleasure to hear, 'Morning Star'. As the title aptly suggests, it is beautiful, sweet, and glorious to behold, a fading sign of past greatness in our fabled realm, and also venomous, spiteful, and cold, steely and cruel. It speaks volumes, in spite of the fact, or perhaps because it lacks Anthony's shrill and whispering cries. However, Mike and Dave team up to punch out both bone-crushing riffs and beautiful, intense, and epic harmonies. It is a very captivating and progressive piece, one that words can not accurately sum up.

I love these songs because the sort of music that Elfion writes and performs is what makes me get up in the morning. They do it with such incredible finesse and charisma that they also take their music to the next level. A song like 'Realm of the Emerald Knight', 'Wolf Rider', or 'Morning Star' is down-to-earth enough for it to sound as though it's one of your long-standing favorites, even if you've never heard it before, and also fresh and lively enough for you to experience the same rush that you felt the first time you heard it time and time again. I think that it is also worthy of notice that Dave, who runs the Elfion website and myspace profile has proven to be a friend and a hero to me, indeed a very amiable man who really can kick ass! -Martin Brendecke