Review by Felix on December 22, 2019.

Once symphonic black metal has been an accepted style, but today this label sounds like an insult. This is how it goes when the former role models do not rest until everything is laid to waste. Well done, Dimmu Borgir. Yet there is still a resilient core in symphonic black metal and Arkona are among the formations that bring it to light from time to time. Even better, they do it very competently. Admittedly, this is nothing new. Lunaris from 2016 already reflected their song-writing skills and frankly speaking, the differences between this work and the new album are rather small. Yes, they have a fresh lead vocalist, but he sounds more or less like his predecessor – just expect the typical raw and throaty vocals. Maybe the word stagnation comes to your mind, but stagnation on a very good level means to be still very good, right?

The songs themselves are still flowing constantly and machine gun fire sections like those that open “Deathskull Mystherium” do not prevail. Nevertheless, the album does not lack profound harshness. Once groundbreaking symphonic black metal works opened the door to a new dimension of blackness, and this is the point where Arkona fail. They stay within the previously defined frame, but they know how to exhaust the scope cleverly. Seemingly with great ease, they find the right balance between crushing vehemence and opulent melodies. Broad keyboards (“Towards the Dark”) or additional fragile piano sounds (“Alone Among Wolves”) stand in contrast to the basic metallic equipment (guitar, bass, drums), but they never dominate the sound. Arkona emphasize the brutal aspects of their music and maybe I should add that some parts of the album deliver “only” pure blackness and no orchestral elements. Be that as it may, Age of Capricorn transports distanced coldness and it has not been produced to please the ears of weekend metal freaks. Sometimes the drums are almost in a blast beats mode and I don’t think this is the kind of music occasional listeners of “hard” music want to hear.

In terms of the production, the band presents a flawless implementation of its material. Well-balanced, dense and dark, these attributes can be used to describe the overall impression. No doubt, genre lovers can have a good time with Age of Capricorn, even though one or two songs are a tad too long. There is a room for improvement in terms of compactness, but it does not affect the result significantly. Arkona have released another intense output and “Alone Among Wolves” marks its climax (although the title track is fantastic as well). This song combines an ominous touch with unbridled passion and given this background, it sounds like the 20 years younger brother of the best tracks on Dimmu Borgir’s “Spiritual Black Dimensions”. (It’s always a good idea to pay tribute to a period of the role models before they destroyed anything in their surroundings.) More songs of this quality and the musicians will take the next step, regardless of the reputation or the exact definition of their style.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Alex on December 14, 2019.

Poland's Arkona are back with their 8th full length album, titled Age of Capricorn. Got to hand it to the Poles, they've managed to keep within the relevancy zone of black metal throughout the years and have been consistent where quality is concerned. Their prior release, Lunaris is an album I revisit often for the riffs and atmosphere; it gained massive attention, generated much support and stood out among exemplary releases of 2016. The next step however would be pondered upon by many, what would the immensely experienced 25-year-old band whip-up on their landmark of a release in 2019.

Age of Capricorn does even better what Lunaris did; if it's the atmosphere you're attracted to you'll be pleased to find it remained a key factor on this particular venture, only this time, it has been amended with greater imposing and convincing progressions. Primarily, Age of Capricorn could be seen as a more dynamic album than that of 2016's Lunaris. Their production quality has been accessible for some time now; however, that's not to say Arkona's hostility has shrunk or become tepid, in fact they have upped the truculence as well. You'll find a steady fluctuation occurring between mellifluous groove and climax thereby laying out a follow-able path for the listener/s.

Opener 'Stellar Inferno' shows a band still maturing despite their eldritch status by carefully assembling their template as a guide or centerpiece for following songs to work from and return-to when branching out. The songs range between 7 and 9 minutes thus facilitating higher progression, variation and balance causing the finalized album to mimic cohesion and be glanced upon as a unified and centralized piece. Getting to the title track 'Age of Capricorn', the traditional black metal melody through tremolo picking is introduced though not dwelled-on for long, instead sacrificed for groovier sequences both in fast and slow sections. This helps in erecting a grandeur personality fitting for such a monumental album.

However, I think their best effort resides within the Dark Funeral-esque 'Deathskull Mystherium' whereby the drums, guitars and vocals appear to have undergone some sort of structural rearrangement, intensity-wise, carrying through to 'Grand Manifest Of Death'. It shows Arkona's most vicious and disciplined wizardry on Age of Capricorn in knowing when to accelerate and decelerate rhythmic propulsion and is the stimulus of the album. 'Grand Manifest of Death' takes every plausible highlight on the record and praises them, thus maximizing the effect for the curtain call. Usually 46 minutes of black metal could prove disastrous if it's of the stationary run of the mill, uneventful type; I Don't know how some bands could sit and say to themselves, hmmm let's make a 40 minute song featuring one chord and one drum pattern; not Arkona, Age of Capricorn is a complete and multi-dimensional record that not only tops their prior release but also shows the opening of a new chapter in the band's music.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 3, 2021.

Looking back, I have to say that Testimony of the Ancients was the last interesting Pestilence album from my point of view. The development of Mr. Mameli and his colleagues strongly reminds of that of Mr. Schuldiner (R.I.P.). Both bands hit the scene with a primal force and then became victims of their own technical capabilities. In the end, the question arose whether a name change would not have been appropriate at the right time. On the positive side, however, the 1991 work is still stylistically comparable to the sounds on the superb debut - at least if you don't take it too closely.

Of course, from today's perspective, details like the partly dreamy solo in 'Twisted Truth' are harbingers of the stylistic aberration that marked the follow-up work Spheres. I also doubt that it did the flow of Testimony of the Ancients any good to include an atmospheric intermezzo after each track. Nevertheless, to this day I still like the basic aggression of the eight full-fledged songs that still shines through everywhere. 'Lost Souls' represents a particularly clear example of the fact that Mameli was not yet too shy for rather straightforward, fast and deadly neckbreakers. Admittedly, there are also some bulkier compositions where the band does not always strike the right balance between song-serving structures and demonstrating technical qualities. But in 1991 I was still willing to grant Pestilence a pioneering role and trying out new ways did not seem reprehensible to me.

The production of Testimony of the Ancients has strengths and weaknesses. I like the sharpness of the guitars, the high level of transparency and the fact that the bass lines are also well audible. The lead vocals, on the other hand, sometimes come up short. Mameli acts somewhere in a crypt in the background. In addition, his yelping is simply one-dimensional. It becomes clear why he had previously left the vocals to his ex-colleague van Drunen. In contrast, the integration of the sporadically used keyboards turns out better. As soon as they appear, they give titles like 'Prophetic Revelations' or 'Testimony' a different shade and flavour. All in all, the record can be said to have a good sound.

It makes little sense to single out any of the eight complete pieces. Pestilence perform on a high level, both technically and compositionally. They offer strict high-speed outbursts, technically playful, partly very melodic interludes and morbidly howling guitars, but also a Maiden-esque guitar line that appears twice in 'Stigmatized'. However, Mameli and his cronies managed to cleverly integrate the influences from the different directions into their own work. Somewhere between traditional metal schemes and the technically complex, sophisticated approach of their contemporaries from Morbid Angel, Pestilence found their niche on Testimony of the Ancients, which they were able to fill with life thanks to their distinct craftsmanship and enthusiasm. I must confess that I miss the raw brutality, the directness and the clearly structured riffing of Malleus Maleficarum, but nevertheless it was and is easy to become friends with the album reviewed here.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Fran on January 3, 2021.

This is Pestilence's most interesting album, I cannot say if it is the best because Consuming Impulse is one of the best death metal albums ever, but it's way more conventional. Composition wise it is entertaining but this album is even more edgy, it has a wider sense of progression. The production is way more polished than on their past albums, especially Consuming Impulse that is raw and heavy as fuck; on this album they coined a cleaner sounding atmosphere, that fits the new concept perfectly I think. Every instrument can be fully heard and appreciated, and the keyboards and guitar synth blended nicely with the traditional metal instruments. The line-up changes –Mameli taking the vocal duties and the addition of Tony Choy on bass guitar- worked good with the “softening” of the band’s sound towards a more progressive and elaborated brand of DM, without losing the aggression and violence as their main arguments.

Vocals aren't as deep as Van Drunen's, more mid ranged and raspy. The words can be heard clearly but still with a horrified tone all over them. Guitar’s distortion isn't as raw as on their previous album -it’s acid and thin- giving the bass guitar a lot of breathing space. There are some riffs that explore higher notes and mysterious vibes rather than just the average dark and heavy DM atmosphere; hints of melody and weird dissonant chords that contribute to the intriguing “open space” atmosphere that reigns over the album. Bass guitar tone is very organic, Tony Choy's preference for finger picking can be noted in the rounded low end, that is present all the time but I would have it even louder on the mix… guitars aren't that noisy and the bass is just there chilling –with lots of class of course- so there’s some punch missing, not in the songs themselves but in the sound.

Even if I would have liked it a little heavier; the distressed, jazzy production gives the album a different and fresh sound compared to what almost everyone was doing in 91’. And it brings the cymbal work to the front row in the percussion department, giving a quiet setting to the passages that need it. The drumming is tight, very aware of the riffs and thought out. The whole drum kit sounds extremely acoustic, as if you were in the same room. Fast parts are fierce and the most elaborated beats sound interesting as well as the numerous fills that bedizen the main riffs.

Testimony of the Ancients features a meditated investigation in different textures that go beyond the heavy metal comfort zone but its journey is led by DM, it’s always the base. That’s what makes this record important, and better than let’s say Spheres; which is too progressive and kind of loses the fire. I find the tracks in between songs kind of boring, except from the bass solo 'Soulless' that fucking rules, and maybe 'Free Us from Temptation' that sounds very sinister. Lyrically there’s a subtle change towards a more meaningful direction rather than just the classic negative imagery, but I still don’t love them. And regarding the songs there are no highlights really; the album is pretty constant in quality!

Rating: 8.9 out of 10