Ancient Bards – Artifex

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• Band:
  Ancient Bards
• Duration: 01:02:53
• Available from: 25/04/2025
• Label:

• Limb Music

Streaming not yet available

After six years of silence – time spent by the publication of the latest studio work entitled “Origin – The Black Crystal Sword Saga Part 2” – Here are the Ancient Bards, authentic champions of the symphonic metal.
The compositional talent – in particular as regards orchestrations and arrangements – of the keyboard player and Mastermind of the Daniele Mazza group, who recently made its contribution also in the debut of The 7th Guild and in the albums of Temperance (“Hermitage”) and Serenity (“Nemesis ad”), is evident and finds an even more marked maturity along the thirteen tracks that compose “artifex”. Title chosen for this new album, continuation and conclusion of the “The Black Crystal Sword Saga”.
An authentic and monumental musical journey capable of showing its greatness from the first notes: starting from the long film intro “Luminance and Abyss”, you are sucked into a musical adventure that starts overwhelmingly, immediately after, with the disruptive “My Prima Nox”.
Mighty and majestic choirs – built thanks to the use of forty -two (!) Voices – open the way to this Power Song LeCacea where, while aggressive riffs and a bass dentant accompany epic vocal lines arranged with sumptuous orchestractions, immediately explodes the ringing ugly of the talented Sara Squadrani. And by pulling a nice sigh of relief, now we can say it: his celestial voice was just missed!
“The Vessel” enchants with dreamy vocal melodies before it explodes a barbaric choir full of energy, a successful solution that is also repeated in the following and more disruptive “The Empire of Black Death”. It is difficult not to be petrified to listen to the emotional “UNANDING”, a magical ballad that enhances Sara's singing skills, really able to enchant with her passionate voice.
“Minister of Light” is granted bombastic orchestrations combined with modern arrangements, through purely Gothic atmospheres that completely conquer when it is the turn to detonate a wonderful refrain, perfectly interpreted on a voice level, thus sealing a piece that demonstrates all the skills and compositional maturity of this band.
The guitars of the couple Simone Bertozzi and Claudio Pietronik are inspired during the Rhapsodiana “Soulbound Symphony”, while the long final suite “Suite of Requiem and Solace” is divided into four parts, during which you cross various shades inside the band of the band; From the triumphal “Mystic Echoes”, passing through the mystical and aggressive “Under the Shadow” up to the nostalgic “Sea of ​​Soluude” and Title-Track, a narrated outtro that concludes this compelling work.
Going away more and more from the classic power metal of the beginning and, thanks to more compact songs (for the first time we do not find any long suite!) And some more modern inserts than the previous works, the Ancient Bards have completely acquired the ability to create songs so complex, but equally compelling and without necessarily dwelling excessively.
Six years of work have contributed to creating “Artifex”, an authentic gem within the scene relating to symphonic metal, as well as the most mature album in the discography of the Italian band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jao0x_1w96k