CoC : Ancient Ceremony - Fallen Angel's Symphony : Review

Ancient Ceremony - _Fallen Angel's Symphony_
(Cacophonous, 1998)
by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10)

After going through some considerable line-up changes (bassist and both guitarists were all replaced and there are two new female vocalists instead of the original singer), Ancient Ceremony return with _Fallen Angel's Symphony_. This new album is essentially based upon the same elements as their debut _Under Moonlight We Kiss_ [CoC #30], but with all the line-up changes and surely also because the band's experience has increased since their debut, _Fallen Angel's Symphony_ is clearly superior to _Under Moonlight We Kiss_ in practically every way. The female vocals are better, as one would expect since there are now two female vocalists, and the guitar work is more interesting than before -- it was perhaps their debut's main weakness. The music here is just better overall, and still mainly driven by the keyboard, which also produces better results this time. The male vocals still fit the rest of the music quite well, while the drumming is still less than interesting. More aggressiveness would have been very welcome here, but as far as mid-paced dark gothic metal goes, Ancient Ceremony have produced a fine album, in which the rather raw potential they had shown with their debut has been given a good treatment.

Contact: ANDE4201@uni-trier.de

(article published 14/3/1999)

CHATS
13/4/1998	P Azevedo	Ancient Ceremony: Tales of Vampyric Romanticism

ALBUMS
25/10/2000	P Azevedo	6	Ancient Ceremony - Synagoga Diabolica
13/4/1998	P Azevedo	7	Ancient Ceremony - Under Moonlight We Kiss