Review in Terrrorizer Magazine
The very existence of Elend makes nearly all the neo-classical available for the metal market extraneous to requirements. With a degree of musicianship, compositional flair, cinematic charge, not forgetting use of appropriate instruments rather than synthesisers, ‘Sunwar The Dead’ decisively places them head-and-shoulders above their contemporaries. After the emotionally exhausting apocalyptic symphony that was ‘The Umbersun’, Elend have pursued a style that is more minimal and considerably less grandstanding, but no worse for it. ‘Sunwar...’ takes the palette of ‘Winds Devouring Men’ and re-evaluates its pastel textures with a much darker, colder and more sinister style.
Within the stark but strong compositions, voices and instruments are allowed space to present their individual strengths gracefully, wreathed in an unpredictable, continually shifting backdrop of dark ambience that in the context of Elend’s evolution are at their most prominent yet. Dedicated listeners will need no more convincing, but for the uninitiated, you will find no better artist in this field.
[8.5] Michael Blenkarn