This successor to 2001's "Bloodthrone" has been long in the making. It was pretty much ready in 2002, but various delays in the various steps of getting an album ready to market have kept pushing the release until now. Well, rejoice peasants, for it has now arrived. :) If you liked "Bloodthrone", there are enough similarities on "Raping the Ancient" that you should also like this. Didn't like it? Well, it's still worth checking out, for despite the similarities, there are enough differences that it might just be enough to win some more fans. The overall atmosphere is similar, a bit more agonising to some extent, and the music is a little slower and more primitive than on "Bloodthrone". The vocals are very similar: BM growls/screeches, a bit low in the mix and a tone mixed with anger and despair that gives quite an effective result. The only part I really didn't like is on "While You Lie Bleeding" where some (not all) of the vocals sound like when I was a kid and talked in front of a running fan to alter my voice (you've done this too as a kid, people, just admit it! :)) I'm not sure what was the intended effect here, but it doesn't come out so good. But other than that, the song is actually very good and even a bit more diversified sound-wise than the others.
"Raping the Ancient" is a worthy successor to "Bloodthrone". Those into the primitive and raw early 90s Norwegian Black Metal should find something to like here. Dimmu fans need not apply.
