Ancient
The Halls Of Eternity
[Metal Blade]
With the loss of Kaiphas (does this band have trouble keeping members or
what?), Aphazel apparently taking over vocal duties, a new female
vocalist, as well as several other line-up changes, I was expecting more
of a musical change of direction for Ancient. For some reason I thought
Aphazel would have a more black/death approach, instead, the vocals
remain fairly unchanged from the sound Ancient had on -Mad Grandiose
Bloodfiends-, without the ultra-high pitched vocal shrieks that Kaiphas
would throw in for good measure here and there..
Despite the vocals sounding fairly the same, the music has taken a slight turn from their previous release, this time having a more straight forward approach where as 'Mad Grandiose Bloodfiends' had layer after layer of varying musical styling. Ancient continue in their quest to find that 'Mrs. Right' to perform their (often times unnecessary) female interludes in select songs, this time incorporating the talents of Deadly Kristen.. who, as a end result, is no better then their previous vocal interns, in fact, she sounds more out of place here then Goss did on -The Cainian Chronicle-, quite a feat! As a vocalist she isn't bad at all, but mixed with Ancient's music she clashes royally. Keyboards are still used, this time taking even a lesser role then before and going for various moods when they are used, from the satisfying (and well done) majestic, epic approach (i.e. 'The Battle Of Ancient Wars') to an eerie, weird vibe accompanying the more sonically experimental songs that would have fit in on -Mad Grandiose Bloodfiends- (i.e. 'I, Madman'). The production is of good quality, I could actually see a more raw production fitting this music better, as they have taken the more down to earth metal approach this time around, more similar to -The Cainian Chronicle- for the most part if thou are dying for a comparison.
Best of '99? A must? Not really, Ancient completists should be satisfied with this release, others may easily find it boring, a decent release, but Ancient are capable of better.
http://www.ancientband.com
© 2000 alasdor
Despite the vocals sounding fairly the same, the music has taken a slight turn from their previous release, this time having a more straight forward approach where as 'Mad Grandiose Bloodfiends' had layer after layer of varying musical styling. Ancient continue in their quest to find that 'Mrs. Right' to perform their (often times unnecessary) female interludes in select songs, this time incorporating the talents of Deadly Kristen.. who, as a end result, is no better then their previous vocal interns, in fact, she sounds more out of place here then Goss did on -The Cainian Chronicle-, quite a feat! As a vocalist she isn't bad at all, but mixed with Ancient's music she clashes royally. Keyboards are still used, this time taking even a lesser role then before and going for various moods when they are used, from the satisfying (and well done) majestic, epic approach (i.e. 'The Battle Of Ancient Wars') to an eerie, weird vibe accompanying the more sonically experimental songs that would have fit in on -Mad Grandiose Bloodfiends- (i.e. 'I, Madman'). The production is of good quality, I could actually see a more raw production fitting this music better, as they have taken the more down to earth metal approach this time around, more similar to -The Cainian Chronicle- for the most part if thou are dying for a comparison.
Best of '99? A must? Not really, Ancient completists should be satisfied with this release, others may easily find it boring, a decent release, but Ancient are capable of better.
http://www.ancientband.com
© 2000 alasdor