trax:

1.The Epsilon Exordium
2.Atlantis Ascendant
3.Dragonis Albionensis
4.Star-Maps Of The Ancient Cosmographers
5.The Ghosts Of Angkor Wat
6.The Speldour Of A Thousand Swords Gleaming Beneath The Blazon Of The Hyperborean Empire (Part III)
7.The Dreamer In The Catacombs Of Ur
8.In Search Of The Lost Cities Of Anrartica
9.The Chronicle If Shadows
10.Six Keys To The Onyx Pyramid
11.Dreaming Of The Atlantian Spires
12.By The Blaze Of The Fire

Chris Maudling - Guitars
Byron Roberts - Vocals
Mark Greenwell - Bass
David Machintosh – Drums
John Maudling - Keyboards

If the words original and unique are hard to find in today's metal dictionary then definitely Bal Sagoth deserve to have their picture next to those two definitions. No one can deny that their Symphonic War Black Metal is unique. They are the settlers of a new school. A school that many bands are afraid to follow ( I don't know why) and they prefer to go after the easy way of Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir (After all I know why) . That's not bad at all. I mean, I prefer to have a unique band than a hundred bad clones. I also have to mention that I wasn't a big Bal Sagoth fan 'till now. From now on I want to join the armies of Atlantis! My first contact with this band was with "Battle Magic" some years ago. I found their tones of keyboards annoying and I preferred to stay away. After that I heard "The Power Cosmic" once but again my stupidity didn't allow me to accept their unique style. Maybe because this album had tones of keyboards and it was not Black Metal at all. I've also heard many tracks from their other albums but my "closed" mind kept me away. Maybe I didn't give the proper attention to their music after all. When I heard about their new album I grabbed the chance to make a second try. I'm glad that I did that.

First of all from the very first listening I understood that on this album they use the keyboards really smart. They put keyboards when is necessary. Their music sounds more mature than ever. I didn't listen to "The Power Cosmic" carefully but if I judge from the first listening their new album is way better! "Atlantis Ascendant" is their fifth War Metal opus and it follows the steps of "Battle Magic". It's different from "The Power Cosmic" and it's closer to their previous albums. The atmosphere is epic to the bone and their majestic black metal give us the ticket for other worlds of fantasy where amazing battles take place. "Atlantis Ascendant" is an album that will please all the fans of the band. No one will feel let down I'm sure. On the other hand some people might accuse them for repeating themselves. Well, I don't think that you should judge Bal Sagoth like this. Their style is already fuckin' unique what the hell should they do? Sing about Satan and stuff? Or put naked women on the cover? They should try to sound like your "Black" Metal gods "Cradle Of Filth in order to praise them right? I'm telling you this 'cause I saw a terrible review about "Atlantis Ascendant". It's hard to judge Bal Sagoth if you dance under the sounds of electro gothic or industrial that's the only thing I have to say about all those who blame Bal Sagoth. For me "Atlantis Ascendant" goes beyond their older releases but it stays on the right road.

Now what about the people who just like Bal Sagoth and for those who have never heard them. As I said above this album sounds pretty much like their older records. If you like them and you want to hear more of their Majestic Symphonic War Black Metal then go for it. If you can't get more of their sound just skip it. If you have never heard Bal Sagoth and you like the idea of Symphonic Black Metal "Atlantis Ascendant" is a good album to start. All hail the gods of Symphonic Black Metal.