ALBUM REVIEW: Ancestral Ceremony – Arts Of Death Of The Satanic Inquisition

Ecuadorian Blackened Speed Metallers ANCESTRAL CEREMONY have their debut album to offer upon the altar of blasphemous Heavy Metal. Out now via Orgen Latem.

Guitars draw in with morbid riffs, building tension alongside hammering drums. The lo-fi production certainly doesn’t mask any imperfections which is part of the bands charm and overall the performance is pretty tight. Maniacal guitars and drums forcefully blister  into life with ferocious vocals to give a slew of blasphemous sounds. There is clearly a huge amount of influence from Nordic Black Metal and also that of South America with a magnificently late 80s – early 90s vibe on the album, displaying ritualistic rhythms and depraved bleaker sections while the devastating assaults certainly are the main focus.

The melodically tinged thrashing of Ancestral Ceremony is memorable with nothing modern in sight, truly old school maniacs doing their thing and keeping the old flame burning, which I cannot help but admire. This is totally primitive, stripped down Extreme Metal with no remorse or compromise and that I feel alone will demand the respect of Metal veterans. Although some of the ideas are not the most original, the passion with which they are used is unmistakable with a flawlessly old school execution that gives the impression that this could easily be a lost release of a time past. Speaking of the melodic side of things, there is even a killer cover of Emperor’s classic track “I am The Black Wizards” which is fantastic.

Barbaric, hellish, demonic and savage, there is nothing but puritan attitudes towards the way Extreme Metal should be, no contemporary ideals. A visceral and morbid offering of thunderous Blackened Speed Metal that will definitely capture the respect of those who seek it out, for this is truly underground material. Amidst the sonic battery we get some glimpses of soloing that work really well with the macabre riffs and blastbeats, always with the vocals being truly vicious in keeping with the instrumentals. Certainly some occult sounding evil Heavy Metal. Blending melody, barbaric aggression and a ferocious love of old school Extreme Metal, the ancient evils delivered on this album feel totally genuine.

Definitely a worthwhile debut that though far from perfect has a mystique to it. There is that really fierce and untamed feeling that bands like Sarcofago and Vulcano had with their primitive and violent nature, truly capturing the chaotic spirit of Extreme Metal. Coupled with the improved atmospherics of the Scandinavian second wave, this gives a gorgeous taste of all things old school Black Metal. -7.5/10