Ancestral - The Ancient Curse - 4/5
http://www.mediafire.com/?
Alright, so in my neverending quest for awesome Power bands, I chanced upon this little beaut.
Ancestral are another product of the (relatively unintimidating) Spanish Metal scene who manage to do their compatriots endless favours by simply being really very good.
What really caught me with this album is the riffs. They're fucking great, and almost thrashy at times. I might even say that if you know someone who says "POWER METAL HAZ NO BALLZ", then this would be an album to change their mind. Free Born has a fantastic opening, not to mention awesome chorus, and even an immortal "whoa whoa" section that WILL have you pumping those fists.
The drumming is really quite impressive too. The beats are constantly changing, and the drummer also makes refreshing use of his whole kit. All to often you hear a snare, bass drum, hi-hat and splash combo, with the odd tom roll here and there. But no, the drummer makes full use of his china, ride, etc which really keeps the album interesting. The vocals are relatively standard, but work very well, as he has a nice tone to his voice, almost that of a mid-nineties Punk vocalist. Unfortunately, one of the trends that is plaguing music these days is prevalent on his vocals. The dreaded auto-tune. I dare say he doesn't need it, but it adds an unnatural sheen to his voice that isn't very kind to my ears. On the bright side, I wouldn't let this spoil your enjoyment, as this is truely an excellent album, with some great songs to wind down that car window and sing/scream/shout along to. Fast, melodic and rifftacular.
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