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Ancient
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| By
Vinnie Apicella
Within the bowels of the
Black Metal genre there are still those worthy of elite status. those
few who can reinvent themselves, rise up from the core, the cluttered
junk of redundancy housed in Death grunts and hollow chants, chimes and
under worldly chirps, where poor mixing clouds the covenant and where
songs rather than being an hour-long blood-let of narrowed focus give
way to a new range of dynamics and assumptions of power in a class
resolved to only those few who've mastered the art. Ancient, perhaps
with an unlikely ascension considering their tumultuous surroundings,
will apparently not be denied their date with destiny. "Proxima
Centauri" is a superior display of high speed firepower and
carefully
engrained melodies, classically-inspired but never drowned for more than
a moment, theirs is an ongoing, ever changing and challenging listen in
what should be the precursor to the bands' tenth anniversary soon to be
commemorated for the world's stage. While an asterisk might be aptly
applied to such a date considering incessant entry/exit policies and a
band that began, exists, and likely to end in altered states of being,
their core in the form of vocalist/guitarist Aphazel, remains intact and
visionary and with him their most compelling release to date. The bowels
of Hell, revisited and on display for all to see and hear, Ancient's
future certainly lies not in their past but with this current assembly,
veterans of Neptune's school of philosophic discourse, strength of riff,
full and complete soundscapes and deadly build-ups characterize moments
of misery, love and death in a chilling portrait that rivals the likes
of God Dethroned, Dimmu Borgir or the late Emperor. Necrophobia is
immediate in what amounts to their most complete songwriting
contribution, often highlighted by the disturbing female voice, enter
Deadly Kristin, pretty and poison all in one sweep of the cape, hers,
presumably a wardrobe sale item from the Graveyard Discounters midnight
fire sale, frighteningly clever in her light-switching vocal exploits
making for some of the most diverse works ever in the bands' history,
summed up well if only for one example, "Beyond The Realms of
Insanity,"
a slow moving, evil incarnate calm before an instrumental storm that
enters, destroys, then slowly moves onto its next target. And yet there
are so many other reasons to bask in this glorious return for the band,
none more so telling than their lyrical monuments. In what amounts to
their most advanced release to date, theirs is a family portrait of
bizarre proportions that seems destined to haunt us far longer than we
ever had the right to expect.
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