Review by Lynxie on August 30, 2023.

Ooo... another one of those bands whose songs have been in the creators' catalog for aeons (in Vanquisher's case, some eight years) and you bet An Age Undreamed Of is gonna be as old-school as it can be. The band members look barbaric on their band pics, and the theme is Conan the Cimmerian. Do you want other clearer indications for, let's see... 55 minutes of epic heavy/power metal? As is ever the case, Vanquisher may not be the most innovative of the bunch, but they function, they scratch that itch. That's good enough for me. Besides, Stormspell means quality in my books.

Did I ever mention that I'm here for the riffs? Yeah, because An Age Undreamed Of is fucking riffs and groove galore. Expected, from the heavy power metal side. After all, Vanquisher bow their head to the likes of Manowar and Hammerfall. Glorious hymns such as 'The Pride Of Aquilonia' or 'Reaver' checks all the boxes of steel-hard riffing, hefty drums and fist raising choruses. Other speedsters like 'Storming Venarium' or 'Savage Sword' melt your face down as Heimdal and Horsa blazed through ruthlessly, setting their guitar strings on fire, and Gorm galloped forth relentlessly on his pounding drums. You'll raise your horns for sure to Battleborn, Priests Of Set, and more heavy metal numbers - reminds me on certain levels of Rebellion with those crunchy riffs and it's juggling art between the harsh and the melody; I think of Niord as a mellower Seifert as well. Certainly, An Age Undreamed Of leaves little to be desired.

Yet there is more to supplement the epicness. Frykholm's orchestras were added ever straight and percisely to the point, and there is the magnificently-done spoken intros. The harsher moments were also surprising, though I like the marching tempo and the old-school feeling of 'Ode To The Slain' best. While I'm generally wary of ballads, Cimmeria's acoustic lines and wailing guitar lines were compensations enough; besides, the speed picks up halfway and Vanquisher's rhythm section is ever more sturdy. Not to speak of the eight-minute epic 'Serpent God' with its steady progression, fist-pounding chants and also neck-breaking riffing on Heimdal's and Horsa's parts. My my doesn't this one hits hard.

As I was saying, Vanquisher's debut doesn't really add anything new to the game. The cheese is right there, thrown straight at your face as the barbarians flex their sweaty muscles and charge into battle. But the quality is there too, anything that's been brewing for this long in a band's inventory will achieve that status. So yeah, recommended if your go-to bands are Manowar or Rebellion. Just ready yourself for some righteous headbanging and warrior chants.

Highlights: 'The Pride Of Aquilonia', 'Storming Venarium', 'Ode To The Slain', 'Reaver', 'Savage Sword', 'Serpent God'

Rating: 9 out of 10