Review by Felix on August 31, 2022.

Finally. It has happened. A dude from Oregon proves evidence that even US Americans are able to play black metal. Honestly speaking, I thought the country a former president wanted to make great again was suffering from a national genetic defect. But things have changed and now we are able to enjoy The Gates.

Are we really able? Well, it lies in the eye of the beholder. Everybody who gets in contact with this work should be aware of the fact that here everything has been heard before. The band name Ancient North has not been chosen by coincidence, the artwork looks like the twin of Gorgoroth’s “Antichrist”, the sound takes us back to the low-fidelity attacks of the old Norwegian role models and of course there is a Darkthrone cover included. No doubt, I have said it a lot of times: I do not need innovation. But this does not mean that it is cool to record an album without the slightest vision of an individual approach. Okay, just like Cold Earth, one can label an album as a tribute to somebody else and it can still work. Yet as far as I can see, the mastermind behind Ancient North does not want his way of proceeding to be understood in this way and so I ask myself whether we truly need a slavish imitation of the early outputs of this permanently overrated bunch called Gorgoroth?

Either way, maybe my answer to this question is less relevant than the quality of the music on The Gates. Ancient North, that much is true, have heard the old albums a lot of times and they are able to reproduce them more or less in a good way. The level of coldness is adequate, the simple song patterns lead directly to the abyss and the raw nagging seems to be stolen from the (imaginary) Norwegian black metal archives. Moreover, the material does not lack energy, drive or malignancy. Thus, you cannot do much wrong with The Gates, but it is easier to love the album whole-heartedly if you have committed suicide back in 1995. Little problem: if you read these lines, you have probably forgotten to do so. Thank God.

The drums sound pretty mechanized, the guitar lines avoid unexpected turns and some songs end very abruptly. Apart from the music, the constant use of “ov” instead of “of” seems a bit silly. Frankly, one can listen to each and every song, but at the end there is not much that keeps sticking in the ear and some additional layers would have given the tracks more depth. Given this situation, I am listening to a pretty one-dimensional work. Indeed, Ancient North demonstrate that US Americans can play black metal, but there is still a way to go in order to create outstanding songs of this genre.

Rating: 6.2 out of 10

Review by Alex on September 27, 2019.

Hailing from Italy, Bretus approach the stoner/doom metal void with their 4th record, Aion Tetra. This is not your played-out stoner/doom metal that is often accompanied by that annoying fuzziness, instead an epic heavy metal overtone is used to build the songs up from a flattened, worn-out, generic staple. Being one that is selective about doom metal, I was not very interested in Bretus as they play stoner/doom, thus I know what to expect most times, but hearing they are an Italian band quickly caught my attention. For me it has always been the Italians that have mastered and are kings of the doom metal arena even though there have been commendable acts outside the region, thus I had to hear it. Aion Tetra is like H.P Lovecraft tales being narrated over epic heavy metal supporting music with a pinch of that Lucio Fulci theme music eeriness we love. Aion Tetra is not only true to the genre, but it stands amidst the modern essentials of epic traditional doom metal.

The vocals on Aion Tetra is something to behold, the frontman’s delivery is an amalgamation of epic doom metal singing that comes with a pinch of punkiness, anger and a Glen Danzig sort of tone. Zagarus’ method of singing is nothing short of outstanding, these vocals add to the atmosphere of the instrumentals laying down that creepy conjuration home to the genre. ‘Third Eye Mystic’ is a thrill of a ride, painting a canvas stretching to touch the mystical remnants of the earliest and most revered doom metal recordings (Black Hole - Land of Mystery, etc.), and mixing them with a groovy epic stoner/psychedelic/doom metal hue. Aion Tetra appears to be a unification and celebration of most doom metal sub-genres; ‘Prisoner of the Night’, ‘Deep Space Voodoo’, ‘Cosmic Crow’ never let up on the pressure applied, every song is an exhibition of well thought-out compositions utilizing traits of the doom metal landscape to form combinations suitable for any unyielding doom metal junkie.

After deciding to give the music a chance I found a promotional video for the song ‘Third Eye Mystic’. What a fantastic tune filled with samples cut from cult horror movies; Bretus was already speaking my language and that was barely a preview. Then going from sample to full-length was all the more impressive, what was heard on ‘Third Eye Mystic’ was inserted with an exclamation mark into every song on Aion Tetra. Bretus’ understanding and capability to borrow different aspects and present them in a thorough way is commendable as most are well aware of what stoner/doom sounds like and how susceptible it is to inducing boredom. Though the characteristic is present on Aion Tetra, Bretus appears to substitute the extant apparatus to the side in favor of interesting and far more compelling songs as an adversary of what would have happened had they stuck to the routine of stoner/doom metal.

Listening to modern doom metal comes as mostly a chore to me, but it’s bands like Bretus, Windhand, Tombtoker, Capilla Ardiente, Monasterium, Evangelist Dautha etc. that emphasize replay-ability. Aion Tetra is perhaps my favorite doom metal album of 2019 so far, every new session spent listening is more rewarding than the last. Like finding a puzzle box that reveals a new compartment as you spend time with it. Aion Tetra is Bretus’ 4th full length album thus I am interested in their past works after being fortunate enough to make contact with their latest entry.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10