This release has been limited to only 300 copies and this is the third full length release from the Finnish Pagan Metallers. A lot of people were waiting anxiously for this album and it has its ups and downs. I am not sure if they got their band name from the ENSIFERUM song but I thought it was a great name for a band, to be perfectly honest.

The Production of the album is top notch and was really surprised how it sounded, even if I listened to it on the speakers on my computer at work. The instrumental songs really sound crystal clear and it's one of the great aspects about this particular album. The album begins and ends with instrumental tracks. Both songs are very ambient and they sound a lot like some good old Progressive Rock. They are quite slow but they have a lot of textures, in the opening track you can hear the sound of water and it reminded me of some instrumental tracks off of Science Fiction Movie Scores.

In particular for the title track that could have come from a Role Playing Game Soundtrack, something along the lines of older Final Fantasy Games. I really, really enjoyed this instrumental song and all of their instrumental songs are quite memorable. I would listen to a full album like that!

They rely heavily on keyboards and synthesizers and you can hear it throughout the album. It's a nice touch and it does get away from the traditional gab of Black Metal. Even though a lot of late 90's Black Metal has some keyboards, well ANCESTORS BLOOD turn it up one notch. They sound like a ton of bricks and add layers to the depths of most of these songs.

On ''Elegies'', you can hear the whole plethora of talent these guys have. The singer gives way to the rest of the band and there are minimal vocals on this one. It's probably my favorite track of the album and combined with the three other instrumental tracks, it's a great start.

Some songs are very melodic and are a tribute to the legends of Black Metal from the past. These are classic traditional Black Metal and remind me of the origins of this genre. Some songs sound like DIMMU BORGIR and could have been mistaken from stuff from that time period. ''The Way of the Spirits'', ''Rite of Passage'' and ''Autumn'' are some of the songs that remind me of why a lot of fans were fans of that style of music back then.

''Funeral Rite'' is the weakest song of the album. It's very chaotic and there isn't a real structure to the song. It had double bass drumming and keyboards throughout with the aforementioned screeching vocals. It's tough to get into it because and it changes from one minute to the other. It's a mess and it's not their best effort.

 An ode to the legends of yore but with an instrumental twist!<