ANCIENT EMPIRE are a Heavy Metal band out of San Francisco, California. Dubbed by members and fans alike as "True/Classic Metal", formed by Joe Liszt, having been inspired by the "Keep It True" festival in Germany and self-described as familiar to the legends of the classic metal of the 70s and 80s. "Other World" is their second full-length album and is, thematically, taking the sci-fi route (a far cry from the flooding of sword-and-horse metal of the times).

I feel that the meaning of "true" or "classic" metal is lost on people, now. If the first band to come to mind is Iron Maiden, and not Slough Feg or Cirith Ungol, it may be worth your time to do some digging. Then again, when a band is as underground as ANCIENT EMPIRE, one is left with little else to do than just experience the music. "Fight Another Day" commences the album with glorious, MAIDEN-esque guitar harmonies. Given the sea of new bands that exist now, many "paying tribute to the greats" and dissolving into boring, tried-already homogeny, expectations were low; being pleasantly surprised partly explains the rush of endorphins I'm experiencing in this glorious slab of modern, heavy metal. The opening track is pretty exemplary of what to expect on the rest of the recording, with a unique voice in Joe Liszt reminiscent of Hansi Kursch. It explores powerful chord changes, and did I mention the fantastic lead guitars?

"Dark Before The Dawn" immediately kicks the pace up a few notches to an epic, brisk march. In a world of open chugs, melodic riffing is to where we must look for audial solace, comparable to epics by MANILLA ROAD, CIRITH UNGOL or BROCAS HELM with a crisp, modern production. On the slower end of the album is "The Forsaken", and is probably the strongest track on the album; the riffs are powerful yet executed with elegance and the lyrics draw you in with each belt. It's broken up with a dramatic tempo change and some lead guitars that an arena crowd can chant along to. "Shadows Of War" is edgier and yet another track chock full of sick leads, with insanely heavy riffs and darker vibes all round; tunes to blow up star destroyers to. "Empire Of Man" closes the album and is easily the fastest, most aggressive on offer, with a genius melding of MEGADETH-like thrashing riffs, and that glorious and uplifting Power Metal vibe, with the most interesting riffs in the album. Abso-fucking-lutely sold.

This kind of metal, simply put, is refreshing. I feel like I'm in my nascent metalhead years, rediscovering the legendary bands that built our genre, all over again. It's about as true as true heavy metal can get but is also a deep, intellectual offering. I feel as if this is one of the coolest albums to happen in metal, all year.