ANCIENT VVISDOM was founded in Austin, Texas, in late 2009 with Nathan Opposition as the writer and vocalist, Justin "Ribs" Mason on acoustic guitar and Nathan's brother, Michael on electric guitars. As I dug more about this not-so-ancient band, three things stood out. The band has recorded and released a split 12" EP with Charles Manson called "Inner Earth Inferno". They like to write and perform acoustic songs, almost soft rock sounding songs, praising Satan himself. Oh, and they like to spell wisdom with a double v. The band was booked as an opening spot for GHOST's inaugural U.S. headlining tour in 2012 and performed at the Scion-sponsored "Death Comes Ripping" showcase at that year's South by Southwest festival. They were also nominated for "Best Underground Band" at Metal Hammer's Golden Gods Awards and for "Best New Band" at Classic Rock's annual awards. They have since performed at Norway's Inferno Festival and the prestigious Roadburn Festival. A live broadcast on BBC Radio followed, where they premiered a new track called "The Last Man on Earth". The bands have three releases prior to this album."A Godlike Inferno" in 2011, "Deathlike" in 2013 and "Sacrificial" released in 2014

33 begins with a one-minute acoustic number called "Ascending Eternally" and it is a sombre song and sets a melancholic mood. The songs that make up the rest of the album are pretty much easy listening songs praising Lucifer. "In the Name of Satan" is a soft ballad-ish, pleasant song with horrific lyrics and is the standout song of the album. "The infernal one" has chugging power chord beginning, almost grunge in nature before the familiar acoustic guitars chime in. The title track "33" has a strange 90's vibe to it and it could easily be mistaken for a TYPE O NEGATIVE track. The song is catchy, with heaps of distortion and progresses well.

The band sings about horrific topics with an acoustic approach that made the music much deeper than it actually is. The songs are deep-rooted in the occult and Doom metal. The album is quite enjoyable and its short length would be enough to keep the listener from getting bored. The tracks are quite varied and actually quite enjoyable to listen to if you can look past the lyrical content. After GHOST's successes, I fear that we may see an epidemic of bands singing the softer songs with macabre imagery. If you are searching to listen to something different, I would recommend giving ANCIENT VVISDOM a try. You will not be disappointed.