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Artist......: Ancient North
Album.......: Berzerker
Year........: 2022
Genre.......: Black Metal
Type........: EP
Label.......: Independent
Language....: English
Source......: WEB/FLAC (24bit)
Quality.....: 1420kbps / 44.1 kHz / Stereo
Tracks......: 3 tracks
Playtime....: 00:10:59
Size........: 124.5 MiB
R.Date......: 2026-07-08
S.Date......: 2022-08-18
Url.........: https://open.qobuz.com/album/zf7137fmka9ub
01. Intro "KILL!" 0:15
02. Necrophilia 5:25
03. Berzerker 5:19
Only two weeks after the release of Ancient North's
debut album through Iron Bonehead Productions, the
one-man Black Metal act is already back with a new
release. This time Forlorn, the young man behind Ancient
North, self-releases a digital three-track EP. The first
full-length didn't leave me all too satisfied because of
the lack of enough memorable songs and riffs, despite
all the effort that was put into the attempt to
establish an authentic Norwegian sound. Let's see what
Forlorn brings to the table with 'Berzerker'.
After a short intro, in which we hear a Barbarian
general ask Arnold Schwarzenegger, as Conan, what he
thinks is the best thing in life. Of course we already
knew the answer: "To crush your enemies, see them driven
before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!"
What follows is not oiled-up, muscular Manowar, Manila
Road or The Gates Of Slumber-style heavy metal, but are
Forlorn's new homage to the Norwegian Black Metal scene.
On the debut album, 'The Gates', Ancient North still
sounded like an almost exact copy of Immortal's 'Pure
Holocaust', Darkthrone's 'Under A Funeral Moon' and the
first three classic Gorgoroth albums. Unfortunately,
without even coming close to the quality of those iconic
records. The monotony of the tempo and the lack of
memorable riffs make it quite an underwhelming debut.
Forlorn takes a different tack on this eleven-minute EP.
Well, not radically different. The influences are still
Norse, but they are no longer Immortal or Gorgoroth, but
the Carpathian Forest, Nattefrost, Urgehal, mid-era
Satyricon keg is now being tapped. So fa there is,
however, one consistency within Ancient North's sound,
which is Darkthrone that is still very much in the
picture, this time around it has more resemblances with
Darkthrone's 2003-album 'Hate Them' (Moonfog) though.
The cold, somewhat militant and repetitive riffs with
the so characteristic buzz-saw guitar sound gets crafted
into tasty grooves. And although, just like on 'The
Gates', the level of for example Urgehal is nowhere
reached, a direct comparison with the best work of that
band, 'Goatcraft Torment' (2006, Agonia Records) is very
much in place.
After the downright mediocre debut, Forlorn has
certainly succeeded better with this EP in coming up
with something that rises above the average level. The
nice grooving, almost swinging saw-sound tastes very
well and manages to pique my curiosity for upcoming
work.