Ancient Torment – Force Me Upon Death [EP]

Although this freshly released new EP was preceded by an EP, a demo, a split cassette and a compilation tape, the band never really caught enough attention to dive really into their work. A saw their releases pass by and I heard some of it, but I just never carefully listened to them. Based on the music on this 15-minute 2-track demo that wasn’t a fully justified choice. This American 5-piece Black Metal band surely does know how to craft an interesting bit of Black Metal.

First things first, expect no revolutionary stuff as this is music that you have heard at least 666 times before. But, if things are done right, they are done right. And Ancient Torment are doing all the right things. They deliver blistering Black Metal with layers of catchy melodies and finish it off with shrieking vocals – like I said, no reinventing anything here.

But it is the catchiness that is the deal maker here. The melodies stick in your head and the riffs are more than memorable. After a couple of spins, the songs claim their own place in your auditory memory. Not in the least because of the great song writing that allows the music not only to grow, but wallow in dynamism. Both songs are predominantly fast in nature, but each slows down at least once to keep the listener on their toes.

What certainly helps matters is the good sound throughout this EP, one of the obvious aspects that makes these recordings stand out above the previous work. Besides a new vocalist (Stygal of Black Sorcery), in fact, British musician Dan Lowndes is now part of the band. In addition to his work in bands such as Cruciamentum, and Imindain he runs his own studio in which he worked on the recording and production of this EP. All of which have helped move Ancient Torment forward as a welcome windfall.

With all these elements neatly aligned it reminds me more than once of the many Swedish Black Metal bands that pioneered the alluring blend of flaming Black Metal and captivating melodicism. Take a bit of that typical Sacramentum-like spirit and add some of the best fast Setherial-parts to paint yourself a picture.