A Grove of Ashes and Aspens

  • Powerfolk and Other Melody Centric Metal and their Classical (ish) Influences

    Now Playing: Neverending Nights by Elvenking “But wait, there’s melody centric metal? That’s a thing? I thought metal was all just really angry screaming and growling and walls of noise!” I hear you cry. And yes, a lot of metal is just screaming and growling and walls of noise. But there’s a lot more to…

  • Pagan Metal: My Deep Love of Elvenking

    Now Playing: Pagan Purity by Elvenking I’m not sure how obvious it is, but I am, in fact, a massive Elvenking fan. Maybe it’s the violin, maybe it’s the fact that they’re pretty Italian elf boys, maybe it’s the folk metal start leading into powerfolk in more recent albums, who knows. Maybe it’s the fact…

  • A Year of Metal

    Now Playing: Son of a Wolf by Powerwolf 2023 was a solid year for power metal. New albums from Elvenking, Twilight Force, Bloodbound, and Powerwolf (as well as a live album from Freedom Call), several EPs and singles from Sabaton, Rhapsody of Fire, and DragonForce, with album announcements set for next year from several of…

  • Interests and Composition Style: Should They Overlap?

    Content warning: Mentions of death, mental health, suicide, and war. Now Playing: The Time of Your Life by Elvenking A question that composers who are just starting out sometimes ask, and one that is very worth considering, is the question of how to make music, specifically what music one should make. This is an interesting…