Ancient Bards – Artifex
Release Date: 25th April 2025
Label: Limb Music
Bandcamp
Genre: Symphonic Metal
FFO: Dawn of Destiny, Edenbridge, Ayreon, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Theatre of Tragedy, Epica, Within Temptation, Xandria.
Review By: Mark Waight
Ancient Bards are back after six years with their fifth album “Artifex” and oh boy do they have a tale to tell this time out! So, what have they been up to during their six years absence? Apparently, they have been using the time very wisely and creatively of course, making ready to paint your world once more with this modern symphonic metal masterpiece. “Artifex” will both captivate you and mesmerise you in equal measure, so strap yourself in and prepare yourself for a journey of truly epic proportions.
Ancient Bards is Sara Squadrani (vocals), Daniele Mazza (piano & orchestrations), Simone Bertozzi (rhythm guitars and growls), Claudio Pietronik (lead guitars), Federico Gatti (drums) and Martino Garattoni (bass).
Curtain raiser “Luminance and Abyss” builds up the anticipation by setting out the story to come with a narrated introduction to the main characters. The choral opening to “My Prima Nox” then slowly opens the floodgates to this legendary tale with beautiful vocals and stunning orchestrations that will engage, enthral and enchant the listener.
“The Vessel” with its lovely string’s arrangements and crystal-clear vocals carries you away on waves of pure joy, whilst the band of brother’s choral vocals of the metal working smithies forges a much deeper and darker path. With its widescreen cinematic feel and much harder edge, “The Empire of Black Death” is more metal in nature, with grunts and growls calling you to arms.
Tear-jerking ballad “Unending” envelops you fully in its warm and loving embrace, with Sara Squadrani’s emotional and charismatic vocals highlighting what a truly fantastic talent she really is. Following on in a similar vein, “Ministers of Light” is equally emotionally moving as the previous track but with a more almost gospel like bluesy appeal to it.
Completely classical track “Proximity” provides a brief insight into centuries long gone by conjuring up powerful visions in your mind that bring a whole host of great masters from the past once more to the fore. Keeping our feet firmly in the past, “Soulbound Symphony” picks up the pace and injects some vigour into the proceedings. An excellent guitar solo adds a sharper steel cutting edge and a more contemporary feel!
If you were to define symphonic metal, “My Blood and Blade” would be it! Blacker than night with its pulsating riff, clean female and gruff male vocals, it ticks every single box as well as being a darn good song to boot.
Teasing and tantalising its way, “Mystic Echoes” drifts somewhere between the worlds of light and dark, where everything is shrouded in mystery as we slowly and assuredly move towards the grand finale. “Under the Shadow” with its humble and spiritual beginning cranks up the tension to boiling point as the final showdown approaches. With the aim of banishing the forces of evil forever finally achieved and the stormy clouds clearing from view revealing brighter skies once more, normal life can now resume.
The softer and gentler penultimate composition “Sea of Solitude” then allows our leading lady to flex her vocal cords to the max once more with a superb, heartfelt and standing ovation inducing performance. I can literally visualise the flowers being thrown onto the stage with this outstanding song. Bringing down the curtain, title track “Artifex” and our narrator bring this heroic tale to an end.
Big, brave and bold “Artifex” is a stunning album of truly epic proportions, Ancient Bards really are pure class and in a league of their own when it comes to most of their competitors. If old Will Shakespeare was still alive and kicking, he would surely have been a massive fan of these Ancient Bards and their wondrous stories. There are symphonic metal albums and then there are SYMPHONIC METAL albums, this one is most definitely the latter, so if you are a fan of the genre you are going to want to check this one out post-haste! Very highly recommended!
(4.5 / 5)
