There's a massive sound booming from Rome. With legendary scale, heaviness, technicality, and the chaos of battle infused, Ade play Death Metal… ANCIENT ROMAN DEATH METAL. Brutal… \m/ These guys are the real deal, infusing their own history and traditional instrumentation with a coldy calculated metal edge.
"Every country has roots that sink into an underground world of history, myth, and legend. The most famous to bring their epic past into metal music were the Scandinavians, with music influenced by Norse mythology. We wanted to focus on our own history, and recreate in music the tales of the Empire of the Wolf." – Flavio, the vocalist.
Ade recently dropped their second full-length record "Spartacus" to pick up where 2009's "Prooemium Sanguine" left off. Both albums were released through the awesome Blast Head Records.
When I first heard the single "Duelling The Shadow of Spartacus", I was blown away and immediately became a fan. Brilliant music! These dudes are creative, fierce, and intelligent with a worldly feel to boot. Every member played a special role in creating this massive Death Metal experience. And just to sweeten the package, legendary extreme metal drummer George Kollias (from Nile among many others) joined forces with Ade to write / record drums for the album.
Named after the god of death, Ade does a phenomenal job of capturing the brutality of Ancient Rome through brutal metal. You can almost envision legions marching and gladiators dueling to their ends while listening. Throw on the movie "Gladiator" or the show "Spartacus" on a muted TV for a visualizer!
Every track from "Spartacus" has something awesome going on. "Betrayer from Thrace" mercilessly rips open the album with malicious intent. It serves as a great introduction to what the album will bring. "Sanguine Pluit in Arena" is the brutal soundtrack of bloody gladiator match, fading out into the hopeless endeavor of escape from the arena. "The Endless Runaway" has some of the coolest use of traditional instruments on the record along with blistering riffs. "Duelling The Shadow of Spartacus" is amazing. Listen above and you will understand. "Mars Unpredictable Favor" is just an incredibly well conceived track bringing impressive riffs and traditional kicks. "Decimate The Cowards" is fiercely technical and literally sounds like cowards getting decimated. You get the picture. This album is chalk full of awesome from every angle.
I have no serious criticisms here. The music may feel ever so slightly formulaic at times, but it doesn't take away from the experience. Objectively, it may not be everyone's cup of tea but that just leaves more for the legion. "Spartacus" is a solid record \m/
To all the extreme metal enthusiasts, I highly recommend you go give this album a listen. Watch out though, ya might lose a limb in combat. Grab your copy here and join the legions if you enjoy what you're hearing! And if you want to know more, check out the interview we had with the band here.
Links: Facebook // Blast Head Records // Merch
