Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta I «Fathers Of The Icy Age» mp3 download

Lilegha

It truly is incredibly. It takes Black metal somewhere so original and so fresh. The atmosphere is perfect. The solos are epic and one of a kind. Just a flawless piece of black metal perfection. I highly highly recommend it if you like:black metal, Bathory and even more specifically Hammerheart, and hell even some darker Cure type stuff specifically the pornography and disintegration eras. Get your hands on this and it's sequel Memoria Vetusta III read in an interview a couple of years ago that Vindsval was only about 16 years old when he wrote/recorded this album. If that is true, then its an extremely impressive feat for something as accomplished and clearly envisioned as this album is. Fathers of the Icy Ages takes the same formula from the already impressive debut Ultima Thulee, and expands upon it considerably. This is definitely vintage mid 90s black metal through and through (with some epic Hammerheart era Bathory vibes here and there, as opposed to the quasi-gothic feel of parts of the debut), but it still has elements that place it ahead of its time and fresh even today in the face of modern imitators. These are mostly to be found in the brilliantly accomplished soloing and a great many unique riffs that you would just not expect to find on your average contemporary work. Vindsval also evidently had a great grasp of atmosphere at this early stage, and this entire album is drenched in a mystical essence that really fuels the imagination, conjuring images of auroras over vast snowy landscapes. Clearly he was working from quite a broad palette of influences then as now.The production of Memoria Vetusta is perfectly suited to the music in hand. A little rough around the edges perhaps, but whatever. That's the way I like it. It was only their second album and I doubt there was much in the way of a budget going on. In spite of this, the spirit and power of the recording shines through as it should. A surprisingly thick and heavy guitar tone works to just about conceal the programmed drums to the point that they blend in to the mix and it doesn't matter, and in fact there are some quite good beats going on. Of note are the prominent and expressive bass parts from a guy playing six stringed fretless, again not something you hear on every classic black metal release where bass is largely relegated to being just another guitar. He stands out very well at times, and is ever-present beneath the heavy sheaths of guitars. The lead guitar playing is also highly accomplished with some beautiful, soaring solos going on in "Slaughterday" and "The Path of the Wolf..." and epic leads popping up during "Sons of Wisdom" and the title track that really give the music another level of power. Fantastically icy keyboards appear at choice moments to really reinforce the cold and mystical vibes. Above all of this, Vindsval's powerful vocals like a furious wind. The somewhat amateurish clean vocals are not without their charm, either.The incredibly detailed and otherworldly artwork, a painting called Les Enfers by Baroque artist François de Nomé, lends additional intrigue to the aesthetics...that is, if you're lucky enough to own an original copy. I'm not, and instead I'm stuck with Candlelight's HIDEOUS alternate artwork consisting of CGI mountains and a bunch of runes, or something. I don't care to get the CD out to refresh my memory. How they could bastardize the visual side of the album like that is a little beyond me, but whatever. I was happy enough to just own this fantastic album in the first place. Strongly recommended to all fans of classic black metal with a unique twist.

Zeueli

I think it's one of the best record i have.Pure epicness.