Review: Elenium

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Elenium
“For Giving-For Getting”
(Rage of Achilles)

As far as Euro-metal goes, Elenium is pretty soft.  No songs about Vikings, pillaging, or even Satan, the old standby.  Plus, the have keyboards-lots of keyboards, which I would have thought was a serious taboo on a metal album, but what the hell do I know, anyway?  The keyboards are most noticeable on “Impostor”, where they sound uncannily close to the background music in the NES classic “Double Dragon”.  That game rocks the house, by the way.  But keyboards aren’t the only thing that make Elenium closer to silica on that list that tells you what rock is the hardest that I can’t think of right now.

Rather than the pummeling, brutal breakdowns that you might be expecting, “For Giving-For Getting” isn’t afraid to serve up a little virtuoso solo here and there.  I can only imagine the pained look on Kasperi Heikkinen’s scrunched-up face as he wails through each thunderous riff.  What separates Elenium from being just another cock rock band with heavy beats and guttural vocals is undoubtedly the Manheim Steamroller factor, as the ubiquitous keyboards routinely show up to…well, not save the day, but at least make you stop and scratch your head, which is I guess better than nothing else.