Ancient Rites are a band with a long and complicated past including dodgy record labels, band members leaving/rotating and all manner of other obstacles along the way. On the other hand, there have also been a fair share of highlights including critically acclaimed records and shows with the likes of Deicide, Rotting Christ, Dissection and Morbid Angel. (In fact, AR being one of the first black metal acts I saw live was my reason for FINALLY checking out one of the band’s CDs with this review.) Five albums down the line then and the Belgians return after a nine year absence with ‘Laguz’ – an album which they state rings true to their tradition of evoking eras buried by time and dust.
‘Golden Path & Carthage’ automatically transports us to the ancient times at the heart of Ancient Rites’ style with a melodramatic orchestral intro. And even when the metal does take hold – consisting of biting riffs, blasts and almost sneered vocals – this penchant for grandiosity is furthered via keyboards and godly voices ascending all over the place. Admittedly the combination of orchestral and metal elements sounds very impressive production-wise but the only metal aspect on the opener to be given space to breathe is a sublime piece of melodic solo work. As heretical a statement as it may be, musically ‘Laguz’ has more than a fair share in common with Cradle Of Filth at their most bombastic. At the same time however – and purely for the benefit of AR novices such as myself – there are also creative parallels with the equally myth obsessed likes of Rotting Christ or Nile. On the best parts of tracks such as ‘Under the Sign’ and ‘Leg V’, classic metal guitar lines and neat solos melt even the most ardent keyboard hater. Well, for a moment or two at least.
I can see where the collision of keyboards with metal may conjure a spiraling sense of madness for those enamoured with the instrument – as in ‘Von Gott’, for instance. However, I do find its deployment on ‘Laguz’ to be overkill. Personally, that same track’s winding riffs are horribly and almost completely overshadowed by the keys’ schizophrenic omnipresence. In fact the only track largely unaffected by this theatric convention is ‘Apostata’ which is also, coincidentally, my favourite. Here, the power of the metal instrumentation dictates the composition, and even though there are still traces of the dreaded black and white tinkling machine, it’s far less greedy in its contribution. Pleasant swathes of six string melody blow over blast-beats and when the solos break out, this section proves to be the best part of the entire disc. Aside from this slight reprieve, the latter stages of the album are a continuation of the metal and orchestral worlds merging in order to bring the archaic subject matter of ‘Laguz’ mystically and magically (I suppose) back to life.
While I can appreciate cinematic classicism in my metal to an extent, here it is simply too much; so much so that the primary medium has been terminally infected by it. That said, ‘Laguz’ has been an insightful experience on a personal level and it’s hard to fault the band’s very clear dedication to what they do in an artistic sense. They command respect for a reason, and to those fans as well as the band themselves, apologies for not doing this comeback record the justice it probably deserves. For this meathead though, less of the grandiosity certainly would have been more.
(6/10 Jamie)
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