A couple of days ago I found in my mailbox a promo kit for the latest demo tape of the American black metal band Ancient Torment. I have never heard of them until now, but the content of the email sparked my interest from the very first sentence, which I found both intriguing and bold: “From the coastal reaches of New England, Ancient Torment has emerged as a leading torchbearer in the region’s black metal underground.” I am a huge fan of Alan Moore‘s “Providence” graphic novels, so I instantly linked Ancient Torment‘s Rhode Island origins to the series. Is there a connection? Guess we’ll never know.
Apparently the band has been active for 8 years, having been formed in the winter of 2016 by Tormentum (guitars) and Zealot (drums). The newest addition to the band’s line up includes Stygal (Black Sorcery) on vocals, Apparition (Cruciamentum) on second guitar and Czarnobóg (ex-Black Sorcery) on bass. So far they have released an EP, a demo tape, a split CD and a compilation of their older materials. “Force Me Upon Death” is their newest offering, a demo tape limited to 100 pcs which has been released on the 13th of December via Old Pain Records.
The 2 songs on this tape are the true example of atmospheric black metal done right and they got me hooked right from the very start. The first one, the title track, starts in a pretty straight forward and traditional black metal manner, with double bass drums and cold riffs, right before the anguished vocals and the blast beats destroy everything in their way. There’s a certain noticeable melancholy in the guitars, which goes hand in hand with Stygal‘s tortured vocals. The tempo is fast and relentless, almost martial sometimes, creating a feeling of uneasiness all along the way. I love the break at the 3.03 min, it cuts the song in two for a split second, allowing the amazing riffs to shine even more brightly.
The first half of “Broken Lays the Mask Borne Against Them” continues in the same way, craftily mixing speed and aggression. The vocals and the guitars complement each other perfectly, while the drums and the faint bass insertions build up the darkened atmosphere. Around the 5th minute the rhythm changes suddenly, transitioning into a slower, funeral tempo. The wailing, mournful guitars together with Stygal‘s insane piercing screams enhance the track with some Swedish style sadness and morbid melody that would make Dissection and Watain fans very happy.
These 2 songs flow very well one into the other and you don’t even notice when and where the 15 minutes have gone. The balance between the frantic speed and the slower passages is very well crafted, making the listening highly seductive. The overall atmosphere on the demo is nihilistic and very negative, but there’s a faint light gleaming in each track which shines for those who look for it.
This sophomore demo is an absolutely fantastic piece of atmospheric black metal and one of the highlights for 2024. I am really curious how Ancient Torment will follow this up, hopefully we’ll find out (soon) when the band’s first full length will come out.
Ancient Torment – “Force Me Upon Death” track list:
- Force Me Upon Death
- Broken Lays the Mask Borne Against Them
Ancient Torment Line-Up:
Stygal – Vocals
Apparition – guitars
Tormentum – guitars
Czarnobóg – bass
Zealot – drums
Band links:
https://www.facebook.com/ancienttorment
https://www.instagram.com/ancient_torment
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