This album is a huge surprise. All the expectations become senseless after hearing it. Elvenking have showed a desire to change and experiment with almost everything they do, but the content of “The Scythe” is absolutely unexpected. With the debut there were high aims and now the question if this is the right way to make them is again topical. There is a big turn in their style. With the previous CD the Italians were a power metal band with folklore elements, and now they do a mixture of melodic heavy and lighter death metal, subordinate to the slow tempo. A dish that smells well, but is not delicious. There are good ideas in the new songs, but they are not well done. There is a feeling that things are made faster than needed, although the musicians know that more attention and time is necessary. The worst thing is that searches for a more commercial sound and messages were made, which lined with the ridiculous modern image of the band members make the things even worse. After the written facts “The Scythe” sounds as a bad album, but this is not quite right. It is simply scattered and presents unexpected music. The good things here should be mentioned too - more of the songs are catchy, the musicians are great on their instruments and the guests are well selected. We should admit that not everybody has Elvenking’s courage to make changes like they do in the new album. The result now is negative, but an indication is given that the searching continues in an interesting direction.