Greece is a country that seems to produce a lot of great bands. Through multiple metal sub genres, the Greeks seem to have a knack of creating some great music. A band that should be considered up there with some of the country’s greats is the extreme folk metal band Divine Element. These guys released their second album, their first in around seven years, in May of last year, and it’s one to at least scope out. “A Realignment with Destiny” opens this album off, and does so with in a way that lets you know that what you’re about to experience will be something epic. It relies heavily on the folk side of the band’s sound, and while it doesn’t offer much, it does a great job of setting up the next song, which is the title track. “Thaurachs of Borsu” opens very heavy, showing the blackened death metal side of the band right away. The riffs here, as on the rest of the album, are very solid, and tend to lean more on the black metal side, while a lot of the death metal comes from the vocal style.
“Onto the Trail of Betrayal” is next, and opens with a very nice melodic and guitar heavy intro. This song has a lot of atmosphere, and continues the epic folk metal feel of the previous tracks. This one leads directly into the next song, titled “Beyond This Sea”. With an acoustic intro, this song uses its run time to slowly build up the sound the band has shown previously, however, the slow pace allows for the band to take a breath, while at the same time giving the listener some welcome variation. “Interlude (The Point of No Return)” has a very dark tone, and a really well written horn section, which makes this short break from the extreme metal feel more interesting than what a lot of bands do. “Call of the Blade” is the follow up to the interlude, and has a nice heavy opening. This track also takes advantage of the bands strategic use of spoken word, and while it has been used on few tracks previously, it really stands out here and does a great job telling the story that the band is telling.
Another thing this song does very well is its ability to balance the melody and heavier sections. The last full song on this release is “Traitor’s Last Stand”, and this song delivers on the epic feel. The writing on here is solid, and atmosphere that is created on this song is one that feels very well crafted. The outro on this album is “Augury for a Shapeless Future”, and this ends the album sort of like it began, but in a way that feels that the story is complete. The metal is gone, and all that is left is the folk side of the band’s sound, ending this album on a good, and satisfying note. This is a solid release. While it’s not necessarily a must-listen, it’s one that anyone who enjoys folk metal should scope out.
Overall Score: 8.0/10
Review by Sam Hookom
