The Pitch: Guitar-driven melodic black metal from Rochester New York. Ancalagon deliver impressive melodeath-infused BM a la Dissection, also FFO Marduk, Sacramentum
What I Like: It's been a little while since I've heard a noteworthy melodic black metal band. Maybe that Gothenburg-meets-Oslo sound is simply going out of style, or perhaps I just haven't been looking in the right places. In any case, with New York standing as the East Coast mecca of USBM, it comes as no surprise that the drought be broken here. While not as technically proficient as other local acts like Imperial Triumphant, Gateway Specter isn't interested in spreading post-black malaise either. It is an album that refuses to waste even a second of its guitarwork on repetetitious, reverb-heavy atmosphere. No. Ancalagon are all about hooks, hooks, hooks. They deliver dozens of riffs to keep the listener entertained, ranging from epic Swedish guitar harmonies and blackened tremolos to Babylonian, Behemoth influences as well; sometimes even all of the above as on "Morlock Whip." And thanks to the grim, raspy vocal delivery, the duration remains grounded in a dark Scandinavian aesthetic.
Critiques: While Ancalagon will do well given both their talent and current lack of competition in this particular subgenre, I'd still like to see them challenge themselves to step further out of their mentors' shadows in the future.
The Verdict: Thanks to powerful performances from clear fans of early 90's black and death metal, as well as a production job that adds an extra layer of nostalgia and retro flair, Gateway Specter is an impressive album that should appeal to diehards of classics like The Gallery, Those Of The Unlight, Storm of the Light's Bane, The Jester Race, and more. Listen and buy below.
Flight's Fav's: Inhabitant, Morlock Whip, Screams of the Shining Wolf