Ancient Rites
Fatherland
[Mascot]
The latest offering from the well-known German band Ancient Rites, this disc is composed of some unique (sometimes happy) Thrash Metal with some medieval/folk influences (that are more typical of Black Metal, hence some people calling this band Thrash/Black…)and very rasped vocals, synths are also present… very odd for a Thrash Metal band. The folk/medieval influences are VERY strong in most songs… the songs usually start off with a folk-ish intro and just about all of the lyrics are about battle and especially the (dark) medieval times, with a few Satanic and Nationalistic anthems thrown into the mix as well.
Well, now for the music… The guitars are played very skillfully and fit the mood of each song well but can be really happy at times, sometimes they sound like they would fit Iron Maiden more then anything. They were also produced in a very clean Maiden-esqe fashion… Hell, just about everything was produced very cleanly, what I like to call radio-friendly, but despite the sterile production you can hear every instrument clearly and in nice stereo : ). The drumming is another point of interest, it’s VERY good… with a flawless double-bass and some highly original and interesting beats. Vocals, though, are nothing unique or interesting, just generic rasps… they do have some excellent clean singing occasionally, and the truth is that after listening to this CD a couple of times all the way through I wished ALL the songs were completely clean-sung, it was quite successfully done. : )
This disc should appeal to a lot of people, Thrash Metal fans will like it, Black Metal fans will like it, Iron Maiden fans will like it (ha-ha), hell, just about every METAL fan should like it. Another thing that I liked was that the lyrics ALWAYS have some meaning or purpose behind them, the lyrics behind every song are all explained by Gunther (the bands Vocalist/bassist) in the ‘notes’ section in the end of the booklet, every single text has some meaning behind it. I wish that more bands (especially the ridiculous ‘Viking’ ones with the obscure lyrics) would do the same. Highly recommended to anybody who listens to metal (especially Thrash), and if you don’t then what the hell are you doing reading this review?!
Pros – Nicely done folk influence, superb drumming, great (although sterile) production in well-done stereo, good clean singing, very likable, notes section explains the lyrics
Cons – Singing is very generic, guitars sometimes happy
Style of Music – German Thrash Metal with obvious folk/medieval influences more often found in Black Metal.
Will likely appeal to – Anybody who listens to metal.
Overall – Just because it’s very likable doesn’t mean that it’s perfect, *evil laugh* … Great – 9/10
© 2000 sauron anarazel
Well, now for the music… The guitars are played very skillfully and fit the mood of each song well but can be really happy at times, sometimes they sound like they would fit Iron Maiden more then anything. They were also produced in a very clean Maiden-esqe fashion… Hell, just about everything was produced very cleanly, what I like to call radio-friendly, but despite the sterile production you can hear every instrument clearly and in nice stereo : ). The drumming is another point of interest, it’s VERY good… with a flawless double-bass and some highly original and interesting beats. Vocals, though, are nothing unique or interesting, just generic rasps… they do have some excellent clean singing occasionally, and the truth is that after listening to this CD a couple of times all the way through I wished ALL the songs were completely clean-sung, it was quite successfully done. : )
This disc should appeal to a lot of people, Thrash Metal fans will like it, Black Metal fans will like it, Iron Maiden fans will like it (ha-ha), hell, just about every METAL fan should like it. Another thing that I liked was that the lyrics ALWAYS have some meaning or purpose behind them, the lyrics behind every song are all explained by Gunther (the bands Vocalist/bassist) in the ‘notes’ section in the end of the booklet, every single text has some meaning behind it. I wish that more bands (especially the ridiculous ‘Viking’ ones with the obscure lyrics) would do the same. Highly recommended to anybody who listens to metal (especially Thrash), and if you don’t then what the hell are you doing reading this review?!
Pros – Nicely done folk influence, superb drumming, great (although sterile) production in well-done stereo, good clean singing, very likable, notes section explains the lyrics
Cons – Singing is very generic, guitars sometimes happy
Style of Music – German Thrash Metal with obvious folk/medieval influences more often found in Black Metal.
Will likely appeal to – Anybody who listens to metal.
Overall – Just because it’s very likable doesn’t mean that it’s perfect, *evil laugh* … Great – 9/10
© 2000 sauron anarazel