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Ancient Curse: The New Prophecy

Progressive Power Metal

4.0/5.0

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Pure Steel Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 20.05.2020 | Released: 29.05.2020

If you've never heard of (or perhaps forgotten about) Germany's Ancient Curse, I would not be surprised in the least. The name seemed familiar to me, but mostly it was lost in the cobwebs of my mind. Formed in 1987 by vocalist and guitarist Pepe Pierez, Ancient Curse peaked in 1997 with two albums on the now defunct Music Is Intelligence label. Now some 23 years later the band returns with their third studio album, The New Prophecy.

Ancient Curse

With roots in traditional heavy metal, Ancient Curse aims for power metal with some progressive metal intrigue. Largely, the songs are crafted with strong twin guitar riffage, heavy bass lines, and bold thundering drums wrapped in arrangements which twist and turn with various tempos and time signatures. Eventually, all things then lead to a creative guitar solo, often over a quick pace as within The Shadow and Hypnotize, for example.

With several songs, such as We Follow The Signs, One Moment Of Fortune, or Mind Chaos, Ancient Curse tries to trip you up with mellow starts with light acoustic or electric guitar. But most often a barrage of riffs and a roar from the rhythm section erupts. With We Follow The Signs power metal gallop follows before developing more progish nuances. With One Moment Of Fortune, there's a mixture of tempos, bit faster in the first half, more heavy and steady later after a vocal segue featuring strong bass and drum lines, then an epic guitar solo follows. Alternatively, for Mind Chaos, the soft acoustic guitar start gives way to a bombast of twin riffage and a bold rhythm section before quickly backing off to voice over that same acoustic guitar and softer drums. But have no fear, about midway Ancient Curse once more gets heavy and raging, but then the song ends as it began, softly. Perhaps completely different from what preceded, the closing title track is power metal pure and simple, with gallop, groove, and heaviness the prime features of the tune.

All things considered, if you enjoy both power and progressive metal, you will likely find Ancient Curse and The New Prophecy both an enjoyable and intriguing listen. Recommended.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

If you enjoy both power and progressive metal, you will likely find Ancient Curse and The New Prophecy both an enjoyable and intriguing listen. Recommended.

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The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]