Ancient VVisdom : "33"

This band's first three album's left me underwhelmed, and have struck me as Days of the New trying to be satanic. There is some distortion leading into the first single "Light of Lucifer". The vocals are lower and more ominous, but there is more of a camp fire rock feel than neo-folk.It never really feels like a fully conceptualized song, but like they were sitting around in the studio and said "Well, this could be a good idea for a song we should do something with it" and then forgot about it.  The beginning of "In the Name of Satan" sounds like the build up to "Fade to Black". The vocals begin to get more Ghost on this one. The formula to this album is clearly set the strum of an acoustic guitar against some pretty basic metal power chords. Sonically this works pretty well on "True Will", however the lyrics are almost offensive because they are throwing around Thelemic sentiment and using pedestrian Crowley quotes without knowing the proper context for them.

There is more of a late eighties punk chug to " the Infernal One". Lyrically much like Ghost these guys are juvenile posers when it comes to the occult. The chorus is also a little too happy though after a few listens it grows on me by a few degrees. "Summoning Fallen Angel" is more Judas Priest like , though it's just an interlude and feels like it should have been the intro to the more "Diary of a Madman" like "Rise Fallen Angel". The hook going into the chorus is more Danzig like. But this is the strongest thing I have heard from these guys yet, even if along the way they barrow a little from Rob Zombie and Metallica to get there. The eighth song sounds like they could be busting into hair metal at any point in time. Instead we get a less than inspired croon.

There is a more rambling rock tone to "the Great Beast". The lyrics are over the top, but as far as radio rock n roll goes this song is pretty solid. Fir what they are going for "Lux" is ridicously upbeat and might as well be on a Dashboard Confessional album. The vocals are also a little pitchy which doesn't help things. In giving this a 6 , it puts it ahead of the other bands out put and makes them better than Ghost for sure, to think these guys are awesome you have to be 16 or younger.

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