Night Visit

Ancient, Ancient | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 13, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Metal Blade
• ASIN: B00026YMV0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #308,910 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Ancient was originally a solo project of guitarist and composer Aphazel, started in Norway in 1992. Aphazel quickly developed his project of atmospheric and dark black metal into a full band with Grimm as vocalist / drummer. The two released the "Eerily Howling Winds" demo and the "Det Glemte Riket" 7" in the years 1993 and 1994, and the band quickly established a strong following in the underground black metal scene worldwide. Among others, Listenable Records / Osmose noticed the potential of this band and released Ancient's debut album "Svartalvheim". This album was bound to be one of the most sold and appreciated of this musical genre and is today considered a black metal classic. The mini album "Trolltaar" followed a year later and ended up being the last release with Grimm, who went into other directions musically.

Aphazel moved to the USA and recruited Lord Kaiaphas as the new vocalist. Impressed by his performance in the bands Grand Belial's Key and Thokk, Aphazel was convinced of Lord Kaiaphas' talent and value for the band. An extensive contract with Metal Blade Records was signed and in 1996, together with Kimberly Goss and Kjetil, they released "The Cainian Chronicle", an album filled with big guitars and great atmospheres, followed by a European tour and the video "Lilith's Embrace". This album also went on to become a classic of the genre.

In 1997 a few line-up changes took place and the album "Mad Grandiose Bloodfiends" was released, introducing guitarist / keyboardist Jesus Christ! A huge world tour followed, and afterwards, tired of life in the USA, Aphazel decided to move back to Europe, this time Italy, after having met female vocalist Deadly Kristin.

1999 brought "The Halls Of Eternity", a return to a heavier sound with Aphazel as the band's new vocalist, and Dhilorz was recruited on bass. Some touring followed including the band's first tour through Scandinavia. In 2000 Ancient did an impressive performance at the Wacken festival with new drummer Grom, receiving an excellent feedback from the press, record company and fans.

Recorded at Andy La Rocque's studio Los Angered Recording and mastered at Sterling Sound, the band had created not just a masterpiece, but also an album with a production far better than the previous releases."Proxima Centauri", an album showing a great leap forward for the band in all ways possible, showed a style more aggressive, heavier, more technical and complete than the Ancient from the past.

A long tour followed and Ancient visited new places like Mexico and Eastern Europe, and was proud to be the first black metal band to ever play in countries like Israel, Bulgaria and Romania (by the famous region of Transylvania). After this, another line-up change took place, with Deadly Kristin leaving the band due to practical reasons.

Now, 2 ½ years have passed since the release of "Proxima Centauri", and finally "Night Visit" arrives. This time with more input from all band members, the album shows several new elements in the band's sound, resulting in an album not only well performed and composed, but also in a great evolution for the band. Including the promo video for the title track (a story about a girl assailed by the dead), and a guest appearance of Lord Kaiaphas on the track "Rape The Children Of Abel", this is the release all Ancient fans have been waiting for. "Night Visit" has been gaining a lot of interest from newer fans. It is an aggressive album, with great power and heaviness, yet with a good amount of melodic and atmospheric parts which make up the Ancient sound in 2004. As always, the band offers a good variety of songs, which results in an album hard to get bored of quickly. Ancient now plans to take the underworld by storm again with extensive touring and impressive live shows around every corner of the globe.

Product Description

ANCIENT NIGHT VISIT

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grim, Ravishing Black Metal, August 6, 2005

By 

World Ov Worms "1184" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Visit (Audio CD)

I am wondering why I am the first person to write a review for this album as i cannot reccomend it enough to fans of the black metal genre. This band has an incredibly high level of musical ability. Ancient is definetly one of the most underrated bands that nobody has ever heard of. THe band is extremely tight sounding while playing at inhumane sppeds. The music, while much of the time playing well over 200 beats a minute, sounds haunting, chilling, and almost ethreal. No matter what black metal you like, whether it be Darkthrone, Thorns, WIndir, or mainstream acts such as C.O.F. and Dimmu, there is somethin for everyone in this album. Absolutely a must have in every black metal fans collection.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Gothic symphonic metal that's a little too cliche., May 21, 2006

By 

Ben Stubbs "Horror / Metal Enthusiast" (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night Visit (Audio CD)

Back in the early to mid nineties, when tape trading was at an all-time high (ah, the nostalgia), I recall my brother (the instigator of my metal fetish and to whom this site is dedicated) had managed to collect literally hundreds of underground metal releases. I would randomly pick out tapes in search of new listening experiences, clutching to the hope of finding great bands amidst a sea of mediocrity.

He handed me a tape one day that contained Ancient's debut full length "Svartalvheim". At first it seemed just like every other standard black metal release, but I found myself going back to it occasionally, finding that it's bleak atmosphere, and raw production only added to the quality of what was a fine collection of memorable underground evilness.

So it came as a bit of a shock to me, after many years of neglecting the band, to find that 2001's "Proxima Centauri" was such a completely different piece of work. I'm not completely sure whether it was a gradual process or a sudden change in direction, but Ancient have become a gothic, symphonic metal band, that still remains within the realm of black metal, due to the occasional repetitive riff structure, and the raspy vocal style of Aphazel. Just as Agathodaimon's latest release has mixed a number of differing styles of metal, Ancient have made a conscious decision not to be held back by the single mindedness of "true" black metal.

"Night Visit", the bands 6th full-length album, continues with this modern sound, and makes no attempt to bring anything new to the table. It's all been done before! That's not to say that the album isn't enjoyable to listen to, it's just that it will most likely (unlike the debut album) fail to demand repeated spins. Tracks such as "Envision the Beast" and the title track "Night Visit" are highlights and show what Ancient is capable of. Unfortunately, there is just a bit too much cliche material for me to recommend the album to anyone but the biggest fans (and I really do find the song "Horroble" to have a very appropriate name), especially when one considers the amount of releases on the market in this genre.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars these guys are awesome!, September 16, 2008

By 

king beagley "metal maven" (warsaw, in usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Visit (Audio CD)

Ancient really knows how to speed things up! too bad after this release, they leave Metal Blade and the drummer leaves. this band is cool. they have touches of classical on the first track and then it gets serious, kind of like Manowar does on certain tracks of theirs. song no.2 has a doomy-sounding riff ala Slayer on their "Seasons in the Abyss" song and then they speed things up. although Ancient left Metal Blade, I am sure they will have a bright future on their new label.