With Elvish Tears Of Joy

Unlike Narqath of Valar, Falagar has been making an impressive mark with his solo project Rivendell. His sophomore effort "Elven Tears" shows growth while keeping with his style. Falagar has added a Middle Eastern element to Middle Earth, but did not get stuck in the middle .... (cough,cough) ... That was stupid ... Sorry. Rivendell's staple sound is present and faithful on "The Song Of Eldamar" and "The Fall Of Finrod" both are majestic songs that are dark, doomy and stylistically black metal. The middle eastern influence is especially prominent on "Vale Of Illusion" the opener and "Mithrandir". The epic "Misty Mountains"clocking in at just under 12 minutes is a mid-paced doomy number mixing in a bit of the folk influence as well. What I've felt made this album a step up was the thicker sound, the variety of instruments, and more melody ... Stronger song writing. "Dragon Lair" has a wickedly dark riff and "The King's Triumph" has a catchy epic feel as well as being doomy and gothic (Falagar incorporates lots of bells and a gong!). Falagar's vocals have more range and style too.

There is not much else to add. I feel this is a superior album to "The Ancient Glory" and that's what I like. When an artist can improve on their style without compromising their sound. Now I said I would be moving on to other non-LOTR's music, but I lied. Sorry, but I started with Battlelore and I'm gonna end with Battlelore's 3rd and most recent release "The Third Age Of The Sun". This album is what "Swords Song" should have been. It shows real growth, without compromise.