Ancient Rites are a Folk/Viking Metal band hailing from Belgium. Early in their career they played typical second wave Black Metal, but started incorporating Folk/Viking stylings into their third album,
Fatherland. They took the sound created on Fatherland, made it even more majestic, and added in Traditional and Power Metal inspired riffing. The result; their masterpiece;
Dim Carcosa.
Lineup:
Gunther Thays - Bass/Vocals
Walter Van Cortenberg - Drums (Though I don't know if he actually played them or programmed them, because they are inhuman)
Erik Sprooten - Guitar
Jan Yrlund - Guitar
Domingo Smets - Keys
Session:
Oliver Phillipps - Piano/Vocals
Ciara - Vocals
Dim Carcosa is amazing. It is epic, majestic, crushing, fast, heavy, beautiful, pounding, everything I could ever ask for in my music. The guitars, when riffing, are always blazing, and are always played very skillfully. The solos on this album are some of the most amazing you will ever here. They are incredibly melodic, usually at a slower pace, and will just make you stand still in awe. The drums are somewhat, different. They have an odd sound to them, very pounding. I can't decide if they are actually being played, or are programmed. Regardless, they are crazy, they are all over the place, they are pounding, and they are great. Gunther's bass work is very solid, always knowing when to show off and when to just keep the rhythm, and his vocals are superb. Snarling harsh screams and wonderful clean vocals that show up sparingly. Now, onto the review.
The album starts off in usual fashion for the genre, with the instrumental piece
The Return. This is not your run of the mill intro though, as it is comprised of melodies that you will hear throughout the course of the album, and it weaves them together in such a way that it makes the hair on your back stand straight. There's even a melody from Fatherland in there.
Exiles starts things off with a bang. A drum roll kicks it into gear as the guitars come in with pinch harmonic filled, Power Metal inspired riffing. Midway through the song, the first solo comes in. And what a solo it is, beautiful and emotional in every way. The guitarists of Ancient Rites are truly underrated. After the solo, the song returns to normal until it's end.
Victory Or Valhalla starts off in the same manner as Exiles, a drum roll leading into speedy riffage, pounding drums, and majestic orchestral arrangements. These two opening songs are very comparable in both structure and sound, and do a very good job of getting you acquainted with Ancient Rites' sound.
From the moment you hear the initial orchestra hits of
And The Horns Called For War, you know something special is about to happen. Starting with a brooding and majestic symphonic score and heavy guitars, the song soon rips off into a melodic fury. After the blast beats cease, the symphony takes the center stage with a swirling crescendo underneath Gunther's snarled cries of "And The Horns Called For War". Much like the first two tracks, halfway through things slow down just a bit for the solo. While the guitars and keys are at a much slower pace during these parts, the drums always maintain a still faster paced beat, and though that sounds odd it works perfectly when executed. Gunther's clean vocals comes in prominantly for the first time after the solo, along with some acoustic guitars, and God are they amazing. They are nothing great from a technical standpoint, but they never fail to give me goosebumps, especially in this song. As Gunther's clean vocals fade an amazing part comes roaring in. The symphony continues to swirl away as the drums and guitars slowly get faster, and the result is one of the most hopeful sounding pieces of music I've ever heard. The song goes out much the same way it came, a melodic fury.
North Sea opens up with a melody from The Return. Easily the most epic track of the album, North Sea tosses flutes and pizzicatto strings into the fray, and to great effect. The chorus has Gunther operatically crooning the title of the track, whilst the instruments create another terrific, majestic atmosphere. The orchestral elements are much more in the foreground in this song than the others, as well as much more clean vocals. Choirs end the song and stay with you into the intro of
Gotterdammerung. Gotterdammerung is much in the same vein of Exiles and Victory Or Valhalla, and had it not come after the two best songs on the cd, would probably sound alot better. But, being alot like the first two tracks and coming at the halfway point of the cd, it is easy to overlook. It is a great song though.
Europa starts off with (finally) a fast solo, and man does it kick ass. Too bad it is so short. Europa contains possibly the greatest orchestral work on the album. The instrumental part that pops up twice in the song is awe inducing. The chorus is almost like a hymn to Europe, and is impossible not to sing/snarl along to. The harmony solo halfway through the song is brilliant, as is the final minute and a half of the song, where we get to hear another faster solo. This one is not as good as the first one, but is longer, so that's a plus. Following Europa is
Rememberance, a piano only instrumental. It has that 'mournful, yet hopeful' sound to it. A sound I love.
Lindisfarne contains the coolest fast solo on the album, complete with tapping and shredding. The chorus is almost like an evil chant, and goes well with the lyrical subject. Other than these two things though, the song is very much like the three similar tracks I've already mentioned. You don't notice as much though, as Ancient Rites made sure to keep the similar tracks spaced out in between the differing ones. A very good move.
On Golden Fields starts out in Death Metal fashion, with chugging palm mutes and lower register choirs, with an incredibly evil sounding scale tossed in here and there. For guitar solos, this song has the goods. About 1/3 of the way in, there's one of the faster paced, shreddy solos, and almost 2/3 in, there's the return of those jaw dropping slower solos. The use of violins in this song also goes to great use. The whammy abuse at the end is also very cool, as it is a trademark from earlier albums.
Dim Carcosa closes the album in perfect fashion. Pianos, choirs, symphonies, and spoken words. There really isn't any other way to close an album like this.
Lyrically, this album is awesome. I'm a nut when it comes to history, fantasy, all that stuff, and this album has all of this in abundance. Whether it's the Saracens battling the Franks in And The Horns Called For War, or the Vikings burning the Lindisfarne Monastery in Ireland to the ground, many topics are covered, and are written exceptionally. There's even a modern day track in Gotterdammerung, which is the thoughts of the Judeo-Christian world from the mind of a Pagan, without all the 'Blood Of Christians On My Sword' (though I love Graveland) and NS bull***. What I love about Gunther's lyrics, is that he never limits himself to, say, just Vikings, or just the Middle East, his
lyrics consist of the entire history of the entire European continent. Hell, Europa is an ode to Europe in it's entirety.
In short, Dim Carcosa is a masterpiece. The guitars are speedy and melodic, the drums are pounding, the keys are as majestic as can be, the vocals are snarling when snarled and beautiful when sung, and the bass is top notch. If I had to make a comparison, I would say imagine a grandiose Emprise To Avalon. The atmosphere of the album always gives me the feeling of the ancient Mediterranean area (Rome, Greece, etc) for some reason. The perfect album to listen to while watching Troy (shut up, I like it) or playing Titan Quest.
I hate giving out a perfect score on my first proper review, but with Dim Carcosa, that's the only way it can be. The song writing is just brilliant.
Pros:
Incredibly majestic atmosphere
Extremely skillful guitar playing
The drums are insane
Clean vocals are awe inspiring
Cons:
Uh, I don't know, the cover art could be cooler
Recommended Tracks (In order):
...And The Horns Called For War
North Sea
(Ode To Ancient) Europa
