ANCIENT Night Visit
Metal Blade
2004
www.ancientband.com
1. Envision The Beast
2. Rape The Children Of Abel
3. Horroble
4. Night Visit
5. Lycanthropy
6. Night Of The Stygian Souls
7. Fuel The Flames
8. The Truth Unveiled
9. The Arctic Mirage (Bonus Track)
10. Out In The Haunted Woods (Bonus Track)
ANCIENT.
I was prepared to not enjoy this listening experience. I say this because I have owned all of their Metal Blade releases at one point or another and there was always an air of mediocrity about them. I wish I still had those cds, it would be interesting to compare them to Night Visit. Interesting because I find myself somewhat enjoying this cd. Having Fredrik Nordstrom mix the material helped a lot, I'm sure, I'm just amazed that Metal Blade has continued to pump cash into this band that has admittedly had its share of struggles over the years. The resilience of longtime bandleader Aphazel is to be commended as well.
While they're not innovative by any means, the material is executed well and the arrangements work. The vocals still get on my nerves though, damn near rendering a song like "Rape the Children Of Abel" unlistenable. Interestingly enough, this track features former member Kaiaphas on lead vocals. He sounds like Popeye possessed, probably more than Abbath of IMMORTAL ever did. Elsewhere, Aphazel handles the lead vocals, sometimes well (the first track), sometimes piss poor (the beginning of the title track).
"Night Of The Stygian Souls" is another highlight deserving of mention. I like drummer Grom's cymbal play at the beginning of the track and the verses are punchy as fuck! Gotta love the old school sounding guitar solos, too. That being said, even with all of the praise that I can heep upon this album, there is still this strange sense of mediocrity about this band. I wonder what it is that their hardcore fans would say is the best thing about them, the one thing that sets them apart from the rest, because, sadly that is the one thing I have yet to figure out.
Rating: 6.9/10
Papa Josh
