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Artist......: Ancient North
Album.......: The Nine Realms
Year........: 2022
Genre.......: Black Metal
Type........: Album
Label.......: Independent
Language....: English
Source......: WEB/FLAC (24bit)
Quality.....: 1609kbps / 44.1 kHz / Stereo
Tracks......: 9 tracks
Playtime....: 00:51:07
Size........: 612.1 MiB
R.Date......: 2026-07-08
S.Date......: 2022-09-08
Url.........: https://open.qobuz.com/album/hehsoecmgyznb
01. Intro 1:10
02. In the Depths Ov Forsaken Realm 3:12
03. Eternal Flame Eternal Struggle 5:59
04. Withering Into Spectral Ash 7:44
05. A Cursed Wretched Soul 7:33
06. Hated by the Gods 4:55
07. Motshamtok 5:54
08. May My Sword Strike the Cheek Ov the Holy Ones 5:38
09. The Nine Realms 9:03
There were only two weeks between the release of this
American one-man act's debut, 'The Gates', and the
'Berzerker' EP. And now, just two months after that EP
it is already coming up with a full-length follow-up,
'The Nine Realms'. This killer pace is impossible to
keep up, you'd think. At least not if you're not going
to compromise on quality. Right?
Where 'The Gates' did not leave a lasting impression on
me, the two songs on 'Berzerker' did a lot better. The
first album had a sound that was rooted in the all too
familiar Norse sound of Immortal, Darkthrone and
Gorgoroth. The EP was much more like a pretty well
executed homage to Carpathian Forest and Urgehal. Now
Forlorn, the man behind Ancient North, appears to have
made another style change and seems to have become the
Black Metal equivalent of a chameleon, a black and white
chameleon, that is.
On "The Nine Realms," Forlorn goes full speed ahead, no
holds barred. In (obviously) nine songs it showcases
lightning-fast Black Metal that, for the first time,
does not have an obvious Norwegian equivalent. The
sawing groove of 'Berzerker' that left me pretty
excited, has disappeared again, but there seems to be
little in its place. Although I am not afraid of a
portion of fast Black Metal, the constantly rattling
drum computer starts to annoy me at a certain point.
Let's just say that this does not have the potential of
Marduk's 'Panzer Divsion Marduk (1999, Osmose
Productions) or the faster work of Setherial for
instance. It is only towards the end of the album that
on 'Morshamtok' some throttle is taken back and some
breathing space is created and on 'May My Sword Strike
The Cheek Ov The Holy Ones' even some melody is inserted
- albeit briefly. Although for the first time Ancient
North seems to have found more of its own identity here
and leans much less on the beaten musical paths and
prevailing clichés, it is all not very enjoyable.
The one-dimensionality of 'The Nine Realms' in
combination with the extreme militancy of the drum
computer make this a not very much of an enjoyable
album. Looking back, the conclusion can definitely be
drawn that 'The Nine Realms' is the least successful of
the current three Ancient North releases and 'Berzerker'
turns out to be by far the most interesting. As far as
I'm concerned, Forlorn has shown that there is potential
in him and the project, but it seems he is still finding
his way. My tip to him: abandon the chameleon and show
your true colours, lower the speel, find back your saw
and write those catchy songs!