Rating: 9.7

Country: USA

Release Date: 2006

Track list:
1. Firestorm Redemption
2. A Dream Of Armageddon
3. Failsafe
4. Fear Itself
5. Lamentations
6. None Escape
7. Sins Of The Father
8. Ironclad

Band Website: Ares Kingdom

Ares Kingdom - Return To Dust

Alex Blume- Vocals
Chuck Keller- Guitars
Mike Miller- Drums
Doug Overbay- Bass

Hopefully you've been waiting for this one with as much enthusiasm as I have. Somehow, it has taken this OUTSTANDING band 10 years to put together an LP, though I suppose I'm not exactly in a position to complain, considering I only caught wind of them early last year, when I chanced upon the incendiary 'Chaosmonger Alive' EP. Following said masterpiece, the band proceeded to set my world ablaze with the utterly MAGNIFICENT 'Firestorm Redemption' 12 inch, one of the VERY FEW recordings that have managed to shatter my vehement anti-vinyl stance. I promptly knighted the band as the most exciting band in contemporary metal, and hollered the name Ares Kingdom across every record store and internet corridor. The words 'Return To Dust' have been etched into my wall since the beginning of the year, and between extended, 'Firestorm Redemption' -fuelled headbanging sessions, I have muttered incantations in the hope that they would expedite the record's release. Here we have it, then, and it is absolutely EVERYTHING I expected, and arguably even MORE than I had anticipated.

If you have yet to behold the wild brilliance of Ares Kingdom, but hold the likes of Destroyer 666, Desaster, Gospel Of The Horns, Order From Chaos and Stargazer in high esteem, I urge you to cease reading at this point and purchase the damned thing. The modus operandi here is painfully obvious from the opening maelstrom of “Firestorm Redemption”, that is, HELLISHLY intense, uncompromising death/thrash that somehow manages to encapsulate and distil the quintessential, transcendental SPIRIT of death metal, creating a breathtakingly pure amalgam of ancient influences that nods reverentially to the pioneering progenitors of the art while sounding astonishingly contemporary, and yes, even FUTURISTIC. Like Order From Chaos, Chuck Keller's former (legendary) cult, Ares Kingdom sound like a band that transcends petty notions of time and context, renewing and preserving the intangible spirit of HEAVY fucking METAL before sending it howling into a bright new future.

Yes, like 'Unchain The Wolves' and 'Phoenix Rising' Destroyer 666, this is a band that is very much a compound of easily discernible parts, yet harnesses these influences in a fashion that distinguishes them from hordes of other less imaginative, “retro” facsimiles. Chuck Keller's exchanges with Quorthon, of course, have been enshrined and documented in Ares Kingdom legend, and it is obvious that Bathory continues to be the most pronounced influence here, both in the epic scope and proud, martial atmosphere of the music and in the exotic folk tangents that Chuck's guitars embark upon on sporadic moments throughout the record. Certainly, there is no aversion to melody throughout the record, and the memorable tunefulness/gorgeous sophistication of the record will surely titillate all fans of similarly dynamic bands such as The Chasm, Deceased and Arghoslent. The influence of the likes of 'Persecution Mania' Sodom, 'History Of A Time To Come' Sabbat, 'Infernal Overkill' Destruction also cannot be discounted, while the ubiquitous, Keller-conjured specters of Vulpecula (largely evident in the band's attention to atmosphere, texture and shade) as well as Order From Chaos (warlike force, ominous feel) hover nefariously in the background.

Certainly, the emphasis here is not merely on crafting a pastiche of thinly-threaded riffs, but on creating thoughtful, lasting, meticulously-crafted SONGS that, like all the great thrash metal albums of the new age ('Hellfire's Dominion', 'Tyrants Of The Netherworld', 'Unchain The Wolves', 'Call To Arms', 'Satanasword', 'Karisma', 'Karmagmassacre', 'Pagan Reality', 'Black Heavy Metal', 'Devil's Force', 'Deathcult For Eternity' blah blah), attest to the inalienable, inescapable fact that genuine thrash metal is far from a forgotten relic of a bygone age, but, when championed with the requisite amount of conviction and invention, is absolutely immortal. As I mentioned before, this album is not one that can be easily pigeonholed or framed within context- it certainly revives and amplifies hints of bands that came before it, but sonically, these comparisons are merely superficial.

Some of this owes to the remarkable, apocalyptic concept of the record, which draws further inspiration from the fertile, inexhaustible imagination of Mr Keller. More can be attributed to the exemplary lead axe work on display, Chuck's crunchy, gnarly yet comparatively clean (for death/thrash, that is) guitar sound allowing him to pursue all manner of interstellar explorations, ranging from the UNHINGED, blazing-from-Valhalla hailstorm of “Firestorm Redemption” (where the man presents a FRENETIC counterpoint to the churning, grinding, compact song). The blaze ignited by Alex's insistent refrains of “Burn!” grows into an unfettered wildfire, accentuated by the fireworks of chief pyrotechnic, Chuck Keller. Elsewhere on the record, Chuck opts for more refined, tastefully-penned post- 'Blood Fire Death'/'Hammerheart' ditties, gorgeous guitar figures ornamenting, but never overshadowing fantastic, consistently satisfying songs that never allow riffs or ideas to outstay their welcome.

Yes, everything here reflects considerable thought and contemplation, and one gets the sense that each of the numbers here has seen various incarnations throughout the band's lengthy history, undergoing a perpetual process of evolution. Everything really is that immaculate, from the individual, yet imaginative drumming to Alex's EXCELLENT, truly urgent vocals to the subtle, musical basslines (staying firmly in the pocket for the most part, but pushing outwards at opportune moments) to the compelling, evocative lyrics, pregnant with fierce, insistent imagery and resolute, thought-provoking statements of intent. Indeed, you will be so engrossed with the sheer QUALITY of the songcraft on offer that you will be distracted from the degree of thought involved in the construction of these songs- within the 05:32 of “Failsafe” one finds an entire host of tempo shifts encased within a strident, fearsomely powerful song. “Fear Itself” is a barreling, pummeling experience, the deliberate and menacing phrasing of the riff slowly giving way to pronounced shades of melody before plunging into a spiraling, hateful vacuum of nihilistic, holocaustic MADNESS. The main riff of this one is DANGEROUS, perhaps the messiest and most malevolent sounding one on the record.

“Lamentations” alternates between Destruction sprint and a choppy, melodic hook that is almost early At The Gates in approach, the song serving as a rousing call to arms to wills enshackled by dogma and subservience- “Like the moth we serve the light blindly/Ever colliding with another servant/ Capitulation, resignation…We'd rather stand and bleat/Flashes of the storm our only light”. An extended solo section conjures images of fields strewn with zealous religious soldiers, the despairing, bittersweet melody resurfacing to further underline the mournful yet insistent tone of the song. Again, bear witness to the THOUGHT invested into the conception and execution of each song, the lyrics and the music are wholly inextricable from one another, and you would do well to digest each and every song while perusing the lyric booklet.

Following the instrumental tangent pursued by “None Escape” and “Sins Of The Father”, we are propelled into “Ironclad”, undoubtedly the most Bathory -eque number we've been presented with thus far (as far as the opening guitar figure goes, at the very least), as well as home to perhaps the most awesome set of lyrics to grace an Ares Kingdom song thus far. Honestly, this song sounds fucking HUGE, and something must be said about the sheer VOLUME and FORCE of this entire recording, something that is made excruciatingly obvious within the multiple dynamic transitions that occur within this astounding closer. Another set of sublime, seamless, martial riffs, another liquid solo, an exhumation of utter, unadulterated MALICE to close things out. Magnificent fucking album.

Yup, this is a thing of beauty. A complete, remarkably balanced, brilliantly constructed record that, unlike most records that take 10 bloody years to make, assertively justifies each and every day we've been made to wait. This album is a triumphant hymn to the timelessness of true fucking steel, proof positive that there remains a vanguard, a bastion of heavy metal that refuses to yield to the insidious influences of modern sterility and conformity. Necessary.

June 16th, 2006