Rubicon

by

Ancient Rites

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This is the first album I've bought from Ancient Rites and it was well worth the money. Power metal is not a very innovative genre, but the thrash and even death-infused power metal crafted by Ancient Rites is fresh and enjoyable. Though much of the album features orchestration, it avoids the sometimes tacky metal-meets-Broadway trappings of so much of the genre. The playing on here is quite solid, as is the songwriting. The songs are certainly not avant-garde in terms of structure, but they are catchy. As a historian and consummate geek, I also appreciate the historical subject matter of the lyrics. The gruff but not growled vocals aren't half bad, either.

5 years in the making. so why does it feel like it was all done in less than a year?

Gunther Theys and his fellow musicians have a knack for epic melodies sandwiched between solid riffs amidst thunderous drumming, a steel-clad foundation for Theys' classy and researched lyrics. this formula has worked times and time again with all the previous albums, converting me into a fan. Rubicon, however will always sound to me as the hasty work of an artist who got reminded by his record label of the impending release deadline. the first three songs rely heavily on altered versions of previous ancient rites songs, especially the lame (the Grimoire of Exalted Deeds would have said "faggoty") intro. while 'signature riffs' still pepper the rest of the album, they are not as glaring as in the first 3 tracks and thus, remain tolerated. in those 5 years, the band could have easily come up with enough riff material and consequently give us a completely 'new' album!

excepting the songs "thermopylae" , "invictus", "ypres" and "cheruscan", all melodies seem to meander aimlessly until the whole song transforms into a background wall of noise, losing the listener in the process. good sugary melodies that quickly turn sour because they are not supporting anything, they're just 'there'. "track got a little boring here; we need a melody!"- that kind of melody! the mentioned exceptions are of course, superb in their melodic fluidity and memorable passages especially thermopylae! that song with "ypres" are some of the best songs ancient rites made: trademark choruses, clear lamenting vocals in the chorus, deadly balance of riff/melody, and rythmics that go along make them ideal for the stage. then again, 4 songs are hardly worth the wait. this album could have been shrunk into a 20-25 minute EP with nothing but fresh music and it would have deserved a full rating. melodies and riffing that were (and still are!) awesome on earlier albums (especially Dim Carcosa), should not be re-exploited and repackaged as a 'new' album.