Fatherland

Having seen the praise of Ancient Rites' "Dim Carcosa", I was disappointed to see that "Fatherland" had received nothing, no feedback at all. I fell absolutely in love with the album's perfect mixture of viking and black metal, with progressive/heavy elements thrown in as well. There is no black and white scheme to Fatherland. Though the black metal side of the album is pominent, there are plenty of grey areas of blending.

The most obvious feature of Fatherland, which I think everyone can agree on, is the atmosphere and the nationalism of it. Though we have seen nationalism before on PLENTY of albums, namely Scandinavian pride, Fatherland is not limited to one region or one country. The track Mother Europe targets all of Europe while Fatherland is (as Günther describes in the booklet) an ode to all and what their Fatherland means to them. While the themes are excellent, the actual writing is just as amazing. There is no oddly worded English. There are no one word lines of "blasphemy" this or "Satan" that like that of (Although the ablum still rocks faces) The Diabolic Serenades. They are written intelligently without abusing the nearest Thesaurus.

While keeping their black metal layout with "necro" vocals and grinding riffs, their heavy metal influence is apparent in the opening of Mother Europe, almost the entire song of Fatherland, and the chorus of Aris. Just to name a few. Let's not forget to point out the, although far too short, ass ripping solo on Dying in a Moment of Splendour. Minus the solo, the entire song seems to drone and doom along reflecting a lot of the dark and melancholy feeling that Ancient Rites has became known for. The rest of the riffs tend to be more melodic "blackish", steering away from their earlier work of Blasfemia Eternal which seemed to be based on how aggressive the album could be.

Ancient Rites have also brought back Fallen Angel from their 1990 demo, changing it's name to The Seducer, and polishing it up a bit. It does feel a bit out of place on Fatherland with it's lack of European history theme that the rest of the album so obviously potrays. However the combination of heavy/progressive riffs with a blackened chorus (Via a cameo by Mikka), with a beyond evil atmosphere, makes it far too headbanging to ignorantly look over.

There's at least one sure instrumental on the album. The opener, Avondland. It does what an opening instrumental is suppose to do. It's short and it sets the atmosphere of nationalism. There is also the last track, Cain, which isn't really a song, but Günther narrating along with a piano. It's moody. The epitome of Ancient Rites' melancholy trademark. I definitely don't think it's for everyone, though. Luckily, as I said, it's the last track, so if it's not your "thing" then it's easy to skip or ignore.

The vocals. It's not too much of a surprise here. Günther sways from clean to blackened growls. Though his clean vocals are by no means Garm or some other praised vocalist, his vocals do the job. They're a bit droney/doomy. Similiar to Occulta Mors minus Occulta's all too obvious accent and a little less droney. I prefer his black vocals as they're a bit more complexed than the former. Having a bit more emotion and layers to them, plus his snarl that is all very common to hear.

So, yes, this is my personal favourite Ancient Rites album though they have yet to disappoint me with any of their releases. There's enough genre mixing here to attract all crowds or just those who can appreciate intelligent face rocking music.

Superb Tracks: "Mother Europe", "Dying In A Moment Of Splendour", and "The Seducer".