Year : 1986 (Noise Records Edition 2020)
Style : Speed Metal , Heavy Metal
Country : Netherlands
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 105 mb
Bio:
Dutch speed/heavy metal band active in the mid 1980's.They released two demos and an album called "In the Ancient Days" before splitting up.Band formed in 1985.Years active: 1983-1985 (as Angel Dust), 1985-1990.‘In the Ancient Days’ is very much a me-too genre entry from a band that was just having good fun making fast, heavy metal. It has influences that mix early power metal and post-NWOBHM pop sensibilities without ballads or crooning.
Album:
It was quite a surprise for me to see a band like Asgard from the Netherlands to be signed on a big label such as Noise Records. Named Angel Dust at their beginning, they changed it to Asgard when they got their record deal. Since it wasn't a popular country for the metal music at the time, very few bands succeeded. Asgard were indeed one of those bands that never got known outside their country land, despite having released "In the Ancient Days" on Noise. The band got dropped from the label soon after, due to poor sales I guess... And then broke-up few years after releasing a demo on their own. By 1986, a ton of bands were already doing what Asgard does on this album, and this is one of the main reasons that they never caught much people's attention. We're talking about bands like Iron Angel, Angel Dust or Living Death from Germany, and there are many more. However, that doesn't mean that Asgard were bad, they were actually pretty good I may say.The sole unique album of Asgard, "In the Ancient Days", was released back in 1986, at the peak of the thrash metal evolution. At first, looking at the awesome cover art of the album, you may tell yourself that it's a promising album and that they sing about medieval themes and stuff. Well, it's definitely a great speed metal album in my book, but despite the great album cover, it doesn't represent what the band themes are on it. In fact, the lyrical content is more or less the same common thing used by many bands of that time, satanic concept, the evil and hell with some fantasy as well. So nothing original there of course, but the music is quite interesting. After few listens, it really caught my attention and began to unleash its catchiness on me. I think the fact that they are Dutch made a slight sound difference compared to German or American bands of the same style. The people that like this kind of music will dig this for sure.The only issues I have with this record is its short running time, which is only nearly 35 minutes, and the song "Granadinas", which is an one minute acoustic guitar track that make no sense at all on this kind of album. I really like every other songs on here though, and the band made it clear about what they are playing at the very beginning. The album kick-off with the track "Before the Morning", and directly with a pretty fast-paced riff and drum blasts to bang your head on. It's one of the fastest song of the entire record and stand out with its catchy chorus, despite its short length of 3 minutes. The second track "High Society" is pretty much the same classic speed metal formula, except with a short guitar riff intro, which is a good thing if you ask me, that's how we're supposed to like it! However, the album isn't just straightforward speed metal, the over 7 minutes of length third track "Witches Brew" contain the heaviest riffs of the album. It's definitely the most interesting song out there though, showing some variety and originality in their musical style.One thing you can notice is there are few guitar solos on this album, the only notable ones are in songs like "Hounds of Hell" or "Screaming Knight". These songs are also where the band shows what they are capable of, with some cool melodic passages. The track "Metal Tonight" is the most catchiest one, this chorus is so memorable, you got to love it. I also have to mention the admirable vocal performance of Rene Tholen, they are a perfect fit for this speed metal style, his voice tone is somewhat similar to Romme Keymer of Angel Dust on the "Into the Dark Past" album. Production-wise, I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this album, everything is perfectly balanced to me. All the instruments are correctly audible, which is kind of impressive for a 80's speed metal band, even if they surely didn't had a great budget for this recording.Sure, there is nothing "outstanding" on this record, but it still has really cool unique riffs and melodies. People that are interested in 80's old school speed and thrash metal should like this one and find something valuable on it, like I did. It features mostly all that a headbanger needs to thrash on it, fast blasting drums, heavy and fast-paced riffs, awesome vocals and memorable choruses. Just give these guys a few listens and let them grow in you, after that, you will dig them pretty much every time you listen to it!
Line Up:
Rene Tholen - Vocals - See also: ex-Angel Dust
Catrinus Horma - Guitars
Appie van der Lei - Guitars - See also: ex-Seminal Emission, ex-Angel Dust
Peter Visscher - Bass - See also: ex-Bowel Rupture, ex-Angel Dust, ex-Cantara, ex-Côte d'Aver
Harry Graver - Drums
Tracklist:
01. Before the Morning 03:23
02. High Society 03:46
03. Witches Brew 07:04
04. Possessed by Evil 03:57
05. Hounds of Hell 04:48
06. Screaming Knight 05:08
07. Granadinas 01:15
08. Metal Tonight 05:32
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
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