After the release of Ramayana in the early of 2005, the band with the difficult-to-read logo, ANTIQUUS, return with their second full length album. Their second recording step comes under the title Eleutheria which is the Greek word for freedom. The fivesome's debut release received something more than a positive reaction from the press and the metal scene giving them the opportunity to open some shows in their homeland for famous bands like SONATA ARTICA or INFERNAL MAJESTY. The fast growing publicity drew the attention of Cruz Del Sur Music from Italy which offered the Canadians a record deal. Immediately the band entered Turtle Studio and recorded Eleutheria that was engineered by Brad Johnso, and mixed by Larry Anschell (who has worked with PAUL ROGERS, PEARL JAM, ALICE IN CHAINS).
The first thing you realize after the first spins of Eleutheria is that ANTIQUUS try to mix the old school 80s Heavy Metal with some modern melodic elements. Additionally, the old-timers will definitely track down some serious RUNNING WILD influences especially in the rhythm guitar section. The aforementioned influences help the band to narrate a naval story that is unfolded in the 6 of the 8 songs of the album. The story takes the listener somewhere in 1474 where a Captain sets sails to discover maiden lands and claim them for the name of the king. Unfortunately, the Pilot of the ship vanishes and leaves the ship's crew completely without navigation. This leads the ship's crew to mutiny and sends the Captain in a small vessel with some meaningless Pilot charts.
Some more influences can be also found from WARLORD with the slow tempo epic guitar riffs and the high pitch vocals. The latter sometimes are way too high-pitched giving the impression that the singer falls out of tune. In the very good lead guitar work there is a Progressive Metal atmosphere adding some more points towards music diversity. The sound production could be better; the drums sound a little bit raw and swallow as if they were recorded without any additional sound procession. The best and most epic track of the album is the atmospheric 11-minutes long I Am Alive that describes the Captain's thoughts after the mutiny as he wonders in sea in the small vessel. The main guitar riff really hooks in mind while the galloping rhythm guitars reveal some classic IRON MAIDEN influences. The theatrical atmosphere is greatly enhanced with some spoken parts where the Captain prepares his speech for trial with the help of his advocate. The album closes with the beautiful clean guitar solo and rhythm melodies of the slow tempo KT Event where the vocals have, fortunately, the perfect pitch.