ANCIENT — Svartalvheim (review)

ANCIENT — Svartalvheim album cover Album · 1994 · Melodic Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Warthur
Before Ancient outed themselves as a gang of shameless Vampire: the Masquerade LARPers on The Cainian Chronicle, they put out this beast of an album, which is rather more aggressive and direct than its successor whilst still having melodic sensibilities. Part of the difference in sound comes down to the shift in the lineup; whilst Aphazel had a full band collaborating with him on subsequent releases, here it's just him on guitar, bass and keyboards and Grimm on vocals and drums. Grimm would depart from the group before The Cainian Chronicle sessions, and I suspect his hand here was responsible for the more frenetic direction of the music; certainly, his lyrics focus on more traditional black metal themes of Satan, wolves, forests and winter, with a pinch of Cthulhu to spice things up.
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