Ancient Empire – The Tower

The mighty Ancient Empire has returned to deliver their third effort of high-charged, molten metal! The band has decided that each album cover has to be cooler than the last, resulting in yet another thematically thrilling release. Ignore the awesome aesthetics, and you’re left with an equally exhilarating effort. For those new to the band, they offer some of the most energetic and inspired heavy/speed/USPM around. Truthfully, there’s a pretty fine line between all three of those subgenres at times, so throw Ancient Empire into any one of them you want. The end result is the same: absolutely killer heavy metal!

If there is one legitimate criticism of the band, it would be that not every song is necessarily distinctive. It’s conceptually reminiscent of the “Painkiller” problem: when the music moves at 100% for 45+ minutes, it becomes more difficult to digest (of course, in Priest’s case, their songwriting is just on another level compared to anyone that tried to emulate them). Back to Ancient Empire though: it is hard to fault their musical approach. They overload on double bass and speedy riffs that hit hard. But “The Tower” isn’t just fast; it’s crushing too!

The band is surprisingly heavy, and this trait blends well with Joe Liszt’s vocals. He has enough talent to compete with melodic singers, but also has a slightly rougher edge to his voice that allows him to sound far more at home on this more aggressive type of metal. Even on a slow burning effort, such as “The Curse”, the riffs just stampede the listener with their power. He is particularly commanding in sections where he is singing just a bit slower than the galloping pace that the rest of the instruments move at. The result is a truly epic sound!

Ancient Empire tends to have subtler use of melody than many similar bands. It isn’t absent altogether, but the focus on riffs means that each song isn’t overflowing with harmonized leads. Nevertheless, the band has no shortage of guitar solos, and the occasional lead to finish off a riff or vocal line. Despite the overflow of riffs, there is plenty of room for the bass to shine, with the low end providing a surprising amount of melody at times. 

With their third album, Ancient Empire has picked up exactly where they left off. They have begun to craft a really solid career, and while I wouldn’t consider any of their records amongst my favourites, they are consistently enjoyable. They are similar to bands like Tankard where you could put any song or album on at random and be satisfied. For some reason, not many people seem to have caught onto them despite being on one of metal’s best labels (Stormspell Records), but it’s hard to see any metal fan disliking this band. “The Tower” is as good of a place to start as any, so start stretching your neck, and warming up your vocal cords!  

Be sure to check out and like Ancient Empire on Facebook!

Highlights

"The Tower"

"In The Land of the Damned"

"Yesterday's Hero"

Final Rating

4.25/5 or 85%. 

Palantír – Lost Between Dimensions

The consistently awesome Stormspell Records is currently unleashing yet another onslaught of worthwhile releases. One album that stands out in this batch is “Lost Between Dimensions” from Sweden’s Palantír. This is largely because the label specializes in thrash or traditional heavy metal. Instead, Palantír is a power metal band in the vein of many of Europe’s most classic groups. Rather than being a straight Helloween-worship band, however, Palantír manages to be just a little bit different. While nothing they do is outside the realm of possibilities for this style, the band has a somewhat understated folk element to their melodies. The best comparison would be to fellow Swedes Falconer, who manage to have plenty of upbeat melodies.

Thematically, Palantír takes the fairly common approach of writing sci-fi inspired works. They manage to capture the other-worldly theme better than counterparts like Gamma Ray, for example, but their music isn’t overloaded with pointless sound effects to create atmosphere. They simply rely on keyboards in the background to complement the off-kilter melodies. The band’s singer takes a laid-back approach; he’s certainly very skilled but he’s rarely belting out insanely high notes. Falconer again is a good comparison, as Palantir’s singer has a similar approach to Mathias Blad. 

While the band’s style is certainly respectable, the album doesn’t hit all that hard. No doubt this is the type of music that is likely to improve with subsequent listens, but even after quite a few, “War of the Worlds” remains the only standout. This is largely because it most effectively combines the sci-fi themes with the actual musical melodies. Nevertheless, the remaining tracks don’t feel all that memorable. This style works for Falconer simply because of how unique they are, and because the songwriting is exceptional. Unfortunately for Palantír, perfectly executed instrumentation isn’t enough, and so while “Lost Between Dimensions” is good enough for the occasional play, it is by no means a standout in the power metal subgenre.  

Be sure to check out and like Palantír on Facebook!

Highlight

"War of the Worlds"

Final Rating

3.6/5 or 72%.