Ancient Back To The Land of The Dead

Formed in Bergen, Norway in 1992, Ancient was born as a solo project of guitarist Zel (pka Aphazel )

quickly developing into a full band with drummer/ vocalist Grimm. Ancient rapidly made their mark on

the extreme Metal underground with the 1993 release of their now cult demo tape Eerily Howling

Winds, followed by the 7” Det Glemte Riket in 1994.

Ancient quickly established an underground following with their own dark and atmospheric style of

metal, displayed on their Listenable / Osmose debut Svartalvheim, today considered a classic album in

extreme metal. Shortly after having been approached by Metal Blade Records, Zel signed a 5 album

contract, moved to the USA and recruited Lord Kaiaphas as the new vocalist.

1996 saw the release of The Cainian Chronicle, an album filled with big guitars and cold atmospheres,

accompanied with female vocals by Kimberly Goss and Kjetil on drums. Chronicle also went on to be

considered a defining classic in the genre. A video to “Lilith’s Embrace” saw regular rotation on MTV and

the band embarked on a European tour.

In the 2 decades that followed, ANCIENT has continued to evolve and grow as a staple of the Extreme

Metal Underground, releasing a string of critically acclaimed albums on Metal Blade capped off with

2004’s Night Visit. Now with a current lineup including legendary drummer Nick Barker (ex-Cradle of

Filth, Dimmu Borgir), Ancient returns from a 12 year studio hiatus to release BACK TO THE LAND OF THE

DEAD, their long awaited latest opus exclusively in North America from David Ellefson’s (Megadeth)

EMP Underground/EMP LABEL GROUP, and in Europe through Soulseller Records.

The awakening of the spiritually dead is about to begin. The ancient ones are coming…

1. Land of the Dead
2. Beyond the Blood Moon
3. The Sempiternal Haze
4. The Empyrean Sword
5. The Ancient Disarray
6. Occlude the Gates
7. Part I: Defiance and rage
8. Part II: The Prodigal Years
9. Part III: The Awakening
10. Death Will Die
11. The Spiral
12. Petrified by Their End
13. 13 Candles (Bathory Cover)