Atavistia – Old Gods Awaken
Release Date: 15th May 2026
Label: Self Released/Blood Blast Distribution
Bandcamp
Genre: Melodic Death Metal, Symphonic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Folk Metal, Power Metal.
FFO: Wintersun, Ensiferum, Mors Principium Est, Byrmir, Aephanemer, Finntroll, Children of Bodom, Crimson Shadows, Kalmah.
Review By: Rick Farley
On May 15th, 2026, Atavistia unveil Old Gods Awaken, a record that feels like stepping through the doors of a great hall lit by fire and frost. It is the sound of heritage remembered, of nature reclaiming its voice, of celebration before the storm.
This opening statement feels especially true concerning this record considering this is the bands fourth full length album and marks a notable change in sound, direction, and songwriting style. Vancouver, British Columbia’s Atavistia at the core still remains melodic death metal with small progressive flourishes, but now with much stronger focus put on the atmospheric elements of folksiness and the symphonic grandeur of power metal to drive the record more towards epic, theatrical battles filled with blood and ale rather than just melodic brutality. Don’t get me wrong this is not an entirely different band, but they seemed to have amped up their Scandinavian folky spirt with more swirling storminess fit for the rough seas and dramatic medieval soundscapes as opposed to those elements just being flourishes. The band was never overly dark in sound, but this album feels especially epic in scope and largely celebratory as if you have just slain an evil horde of undead warriors and will now raise your horns in blood soaked bliss.
Old Gods Awaken feels just as the title suggests, a rebirth or awakening of an old spirit intertwined with what was already there just amplified to its peak max. The jagged, tremolo picked guitars rip and tear fiercely through the mix on Mystic Tavern, the memorable symphonics of Seeker of Time soar high above the chaos of frenetic riffs. The Scandinavian melodies carry you through a spirited, folky journey, filled with mysticism and triumphs on To a New World, while the enchanted clean vocals that begin the track are enhanced by mesmerizing harsh vocal hooks on Goddess of My Dreams. A well-blended mix of good vs evil, harsh vs clean, melodic vs chaotic gives the record a universal sound that should appeal to several diverse types of metalheads that translate beyond genre boundaries.
If you’re already familiar Atavistia still remains brutal and ferocious, with powerful blast beats, and fast riff driven tempos ready to stomp you into oblivion, but the deepened emphasis of folky melodies, catchy shanties and symphonic power metal influences potentially could blindside longtime fans if those elements are your least favourite part of the band’s previous soundscape. It’s not just in smaller doses this time around and with the melodic death metal less in the forefront, it becomes a different listening experience. With that said, the technical musicianship is still insanely good. These tracks rip hard and do carry the melo-death torch throughout. The songwriting is still top-notch, and the band sounds like their charged up for a great battle. While I’m not a day one fan, I feel you could look at this record in two ways; the band have reached their full potential after teasing these elements in the past releases or the band has taken too much of a full left turn and will alienate their core fanbase. I’m choosing to go with the first, this record to me sounds like what they have already been trying to do, just now finally realizing they should go full on with their sound. With that said however, this record will be judged in a more niche group of bands that have already been pumping out killer records for a while now. Luckily for all of us, Old Gods Awaken is pretty fucking great.
(4 / 5)
