WHITE SKULL – The Ring Of The Ancients

It has been two long years since the last release from the Italian Power Metal band White Skull. Now, the band’s seventh release, The Ring Of The Ancients, is out and what a release this is! You can’t avoid being totally blown away by the strength of the music White Skull has created this time. This is the kind of album you’ll enjoy from the beginning of the record and until the very end.

The killer track “Ninth Night” starts the show with tremendous energy. The gigantic opening riff is tossed into your face, and the extreme double bass drum parts, screaming guitars, and soaring vocal lines follow. A very catchy refrain actually, with a lot of vocal screaming, intense drumming, and the intro guitar riff. This is definitely the best song on the album.

“Head Hunters” is also one of the headlights on this record. The intro is a mysterious 4-second long guitar “thing.” Then there’s a short break and a kickass guitar riff drops in with pounding drums and energetic bass lines. The only thing that puts the song down is the chord progression on the first part of the guitar solo. It’s just weird and ugly until Danilo comes in with a more aggressive solo and the chord progression takes another direction.

The most epic song on this record has to be “From The Mist.” It starts out with an acoustic guitar intro that could remind you of something out of the Blind Guardian album Nightfall In Middle Earth. It is a very Medieval/Renaissance-based intro, actually. Then, it goes heavy and enters a faster tempo with screaming guitar riffs and a lot of double bass drum pounding. Danilo’s guitar solo on this track is just awesome! It features a whole lot of arpeggios and intense picking. In other words; he really shows off his guitar skills on this track.

“After The Battle (… bottle)” is maybe the roughest song on this record. The opening guitar riff is extremely intense and heavy. When the whole band enters, it goes into an up-tempo setting, however, the lyrics are nothing less than lousy. The opening line for this song, “Fight for the Glory,” is like a Manowar rip-off, and also too typical for Power Metal. Still, the guitar solo kicks some major ass. Danilo makes his guitar-scream even more extreme than ever before, and comes up with fast arpeggio playing in the end. It is just awesome and must be heard! At the end of the song, they slow it down to an acoustic guitar part with vocals. And, it has to be said that Gus has very bad English pronunciation, especially on that part of the song.

The most typical Power Metal song on this record is “King With The Silver Hand.” It starts out with a soft guitar intro, then intense double bass drum parts and guitar lines that sometimes sounds similar to the typical Dragonforce sound, appears together with the soaring vocals of Gus. This is the fastest song on the album and has a refrain that Rhapsody guitarist Luca Turilli could have written, featuring a massive choir and simple lyrics.

White Skull is not a typical Power Metal band musically, but when it comes to lyrics and song titles, they are very similar to bands like Rhapsody and Blind Guardian. Anyway, White Skull has made a real good album this time, unlike many of their earlier records.

Lineup

Tony “Mad” Fontò – Rhythm Guitar
Steve Balocco – Bass
Gus Gabarrò – Vocals
Alex Mantiero – Drums
Danilo Bar – Lead Guitar

Tracklist

1. Ninth Night
2. Guardians
3. Head Hunters
4. The Ring Of The Ancients
5. Half Moon Path
6. From The Mist
7. Orgam (Mystic Writings On The Stone)
8. After The Battle (… bottle)
9. King With The Silver Hand
10. Valhalla
11. Marching To Alesia
12. Tuatha De Danaan