Elanor

With a name nicked from the Tolkien universe (and not from the Beatles’ song!), ELANOR was formed in Heraklion (Crete) back in 1999, originally with the intention of performing atmospheric Gothic Metal with Death Metal-styled vocals. The original lineup included Giannis/John Stavrakakis (guitars) and his brother George Stavrakakis (drums) along with Dimitris Fragioudakis (vocals, bass), who were soon followed by George Magarakis (guitars) and finally Niki Parasyri as a second session vocalist. Later in summer the same year, ELANOR produced their debut demo CD entitled “Sailing for an Eternal Vow” (1999) – a two-track recording which unfortunately has evaded the ears of HSA so far.

As a result of member displacement due to studies, ELANOR nearly broke up in the wake of “Sailing…”, but apparently their minds were changed by summer 2000, when the lineup was extended by the introduction of Manolis Schizakis (DOOMOCRACY) as the band’s new main vocalist, while Niki was “upgraded” to permanent member status. The band also added a keyboardist in Babis Manousakis. About half a year later, ELANOR performed their first (and only?) live show at Mylos Club in their hometown of Heraklion.

Come summer 2001, ELANOR once again entered the studio to complete a second demo entitled “Digital Gates” and consisting of four songs in total + their first demo tucked on as remastered bonus tracks with some additional keyboard arrangements. Stylewise, “Digital Gates” offered fairly melodic and Gothic-tinged Metal with gruff male vocals and typically “ethereal” female voices. The demo received positive response from Metal Hammer Greece as was voted as demo of the month.

Although the band began composing and recording new material for a follow-up release, a lengthy hiatus followed after the release of “Digital Gates”. If available sources are to be trusted, the band’s third demo, “The Grand Dilemma”, didn’t see the light of day until 2012. A rather ambitious work consisting of three compositions of moderate length, “The Grand Dilemma” presented a semi-symphonic blend of melodic Death- and Gothic Metal with relatively intricate arrangements. After this release, it appears as if the band lost interest and once again entered hiatus and no further activity has been spotted from the ELANOR camp since.

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