ANCIENT — Svartalvheim (review)

ANCIENT — Svartalvheim album cover Album · 1994 · Melodic Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Conor Fynes
'Svartalvheim' - Ancient (7/10)

One look at the visibly budget-conscious and cheesy album cover of the Norwegian black metal band Ancient's debut full-length would very well lead one to believe that this was another obscure but forgettable exercise in all things blastbeat-rife and 'kvlt'. But much to my surprise, 'Svartalvheim' is an album from the second wave of Norwegian black metal that really stands out from the others in terms of its interesting stylistic direction. True, there are plenty of sounds here to root the band in with their compatriots Burzum, Mayhem and Emperor, but Ancient's adventurous take on the black metal sound here makes 'Svartalvheim' certainly worth the experience.

The closest act I could compare Ancient with at this early stage in their career would be Ulver, who was coming onto the scene at roughly the same time. Ancient uses much of the same folky acoustics here to contrast the otherwise lo-fi and simplistic black metal. 'Paa Evig Vandring' is the biggest surprise track here, a nine minute long powerhouse that goes from black metal into a longwinded baroque organ display, eventually developing into a psychedelic soundscape. The untitled closing track of this album even goes into spacey ambiance, sounding like it could have been taken from a science fiction film. However, much of 'Svartalvheim' is divided between acoustic folkiness and traditional black metal, and suffice to say, the less metallic aspects of Ancient are what they excel most at.

In terms of the black metal itself, it is not nearly the best that the Norwegian scene at this point would have to offer. Mayhem was able to capture the same blastbeats and dark riffs with a much more atmospheric quality to them, and the vocals here are a little underwhelming. Some of the riffs are darkly melodic, and while the black metal aspect of Ancient is never truly lacking here, it's not nearly as impressive as some of the other bands in Norway at the time, and is dwarfed even by their more experimental aspects. All the same, 'Svartalvheim' can be lauded for being willing to experiment with a genre that at the time was still wrapped up in murder conspiracies and church burnings. An impressive effort from this Norwegian duo.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

I, the Destroyer Black Metal
SVARTFJELL
Buy this album from MMA partners
A Sonication Technical Death Metal
OBSCURA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 7 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 7 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 7 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 7 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 7 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed