Review by Drew on July 6, 2008.

Coming from Norway, Antares Predator’s Banquet of Ashes, an EP Promo that contains only 5 tracks, is a mix of Black Metal, Death Metal, and Thrash Metal. It was recorded in different studios within Norway and Italy, mainly bedrooms and rehearsal rooms, so you can tell that the production isn’t quite up to par, but this really is a good thing considering it was made with many different members throughout the years, but the mastermind behind it all is Oyvind Winther, otherwise known as Warach formerly of Keep of Kalessin.

The best song on this release is the first track, “Erosion of Eternity”. This track seems to be the most recent and the best produced as far as production goes because it doesn’t sound like it was recorded in a bedroom. With that being said, the other tracks, “As Dragons Roam the Sky”, “Sacrament”, “Midnight Wolf”, “Outro”, are still very good. Maybe it’s me, but I like the fact that the production is a little rough because it sounds more sinister and dark. The last track, “Outro”, is an instrumental of a clean guitar, which really sounds good although it could have been longer as it is only a little over two minutes in length.

Overall, I feel that Banquet of Ashes is a preview for what is to come on Antares Predator’s upcoming album, Twilight of the Apocalypse. If this EP demo is any indication of what Twilight of the Apocalypse is going to sound like, then Metal fans are in for a treat once it’s released. I know I can’t wait for it. If you can find Banquet of Ashes it’s well worth buying and checking out for yourself.

Bottom Line: A good preview for what’s to come on their next release.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 6
Originality: 7
Overall: 7

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Felix on July 24, 2019.

Albeit my brain cells rot every day a little more, I know for sure that the debuts of bands such as Exodus, Venom or Slayer have been released more than 30 years ago. This is a somewhat uncomfortable feeling, but not really shocking. On the other hand, I always fear the moment when I realize that a comparatively "new" record has already celebrated its 20th birthday as well. That's exactly the fact when it comes to Hymn Till Hangagud. Don't be confused by the inferior artwork, the music itself is free from any type of infantile elements.

The combination of black and death metal can work excellently - and it can be a total failure, too. Here we have the situation that the black components gain the upper hand and some atmospheric Northern melodies interrupt the fanatic and fast sections. "De nordiska lagren" has such less violent moments that make the difference. I confirm without hesitation that the Swedes are able to write very strict, exciting sequences which pass by like a bullet train. High speed eruptions shape a lot of parts of the material and they sound impressive, nevertheless, it is good that they are contrasted by the more ponderous rhythms from time to time. The nasty nagging of lead vocalist Bogge accompanies both forms of musical expression appropriately, but despite his robust performance, he is always at risk to be killed by the voluminous instrumental section. Massive and impressive, these are the terms that describe the sound fittingly. Hence, the output scores with depth, atmosphere and brutality. No doubt, this mix puts the mighty material into the right light.

The fluid transitions between the single songs create the feeling of listening to a kind of extreme metal opera. Crude experiments do not disturb the homogeneity and some medieval sounding tone sequences in "The March of Warlike Damned" remain the most extraordinary element. Greetings from Desaster! By the way, the aforementioned track is the longest piece of the album and it houses a huge number of different sections, but it does not suffer from too complicated structures. This is definitely a strength of this debut: monumental patterns give room for many variations without leading to incomprehensible results. The dudes avoid repetitiveness, only the closer relies mainly on one single riff. But it is a real monster riff and due to the slowly growing density of the track, "Spjutsången" marks a fiery end, melancholic yet extremely heavy, combative and fatalistic. The galloping, neighing horses at the end of the song bring the listener directly into the archaic battle and supporters of Necrophobic or Marduk will love to take part in this bloody contest.

Hymn Till Hangagud united very raw vibes with an enormous level of musicianship. Due to its very strong substance, it clocked in at 47 minutes. I am still a fan of this awe-inspiring, stormy and thrilling debut without any fillers. It catapulted the self-confident dudes from Söderköping on my pretty long list of highly interesting formations. Albeit quality beats quantity, it is too bad that the band created only three full-lengths. Worse still, even their "youngest" record is already 19 years old. Shocking.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10