BACK TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD

Description

Formed in Bergen, Norway in 1992, Ancient rapidly made their mark on the extreme Metal World with the 1993 release of their now cult demo tape Eerily Howling Winds, followed by the 7" Det Glemte Riket in 1994. Ancient quickly established an underground following with their own dark and atmospheric style of metal, displayed on their Listenable / Osmose debut Svartalvheim, today considered a classic album in extreme metal. Review: 4 & 1/2 dying stars: Their best since Mad Grandiose, - Ancient was my intro to Black Metal, beyond what may have played on WKNC 88.1's Chainsaw Rock before I cared for the genre, I picked 2 different comps (Metalmeister Vol 1 & Metal Massacre 12), with a song from Cainian Chronicle & Svartalvheim respectively. In the intervening years I've delved into more KVLT & TR00 bands but as a primer for the genre, they have everything except the danger. Sonically similar to Immortal but much slower, with an emphasis on thrashy, memorable riffs & tasteful guitar solos. The big draw for me this time is the presence of Nick Barker on drums, (ex-CoF/Dimmu Borgir/Old Man's Child; all bands Ancient have been compared to & unfairly pilloried for perceived similarities). Having been in the band since 2009, I was expecting a much faster, blastier performance, but his playing is lock(up) tight. Been a long time since hearing him play, and in the intervening years heard so much busier drumming but he is tighter than something Trump would grab nonetheless. Aphazel's voice has never sounded better. The album gets better as it goes along, personally not delivering until track 3. I could take or leave the first 2 songs, just basic Black Metal 101 & the Bathory cover is superfluous. Should've released those as an EP, imo. Would've loved to have hard some rerecorded older tracks, whether studio or live. Best track: Occlude The Gates. Review: Five Stars - glad to see that the legends are back