Son of the Shades

This album opens with a haunting and disturbing track which invokes a feeling of repression and dismay. The 2nd track (the title track) starts in with some really nice ethereal strings and piano which set the stage for the powerful transition in which the drum machine, guitars and vocals kick in (there is also a sound sample of a horse, which is pretty unusual in itself). The only complaint I have about this one particular track is that almost right after the song gets going, it fades out and that's the end of it. It's such an awesome song. Oh well, the next song kicks in with a similar tempo and is an instrumental except for some clean choir vocals. There are many transitions, with stormy soundscapes, lush pianos, and very dynamic tempo changes. One moment you will feel peaceful and at ease, then all of a sudden you are swept into a whirlwind of darkness and despair. The album as a whole has a very medieval and ambient feel to it, with many sound samples used throughout. Vocals are used very sparingly on this album (both growly black metal vocals and clean vocals are used). The music at first sounds very basic and simple, yet the way that so many different keyboard parts and sound effects (even bagpipes) are blended, along with the amazingly dynamic transitions (you can never predict what will happen next) make the album very deep and complex both musically and emotionally. As for comparisons, one might compare Elffor to Summoning. Although, in my opinion, this album totally blows away anything Summoning has ever released. "Son Of The Shades" is one of my absolute favorite albums. As of yet the band is not on a record label. If I had my own label, I'd sign them in a heartbeat. Hail the mighty Elffor!