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The French black metal label Oaken Shield have dug up a few very interesting bands from the underground. One of them is the Spanish band Berserk who I was very glad to get to know when they released their second album "Rites Of Supremacy" in 2003. Black metal bands are usually about either of two things - they either dwell in the dark and write odes to Satan or they remain focused on the past, paying homage to their ancestors and homeland. Iberian bands are usually of the second kind and so is Berserk which you probably realize simply by looking at the title of this disc. "Rites Of The Ancient Laws" was actually the band's demo EP from 1999 which led to the deal with Oaken Shield and it is now being re-issued by their label but this disc also contains live material from one of their shows in Madrid. The sound quality of this recording is naturally not top-notch but it is good enough to work well with the band's image I feel and hearing the songs from their demo for the first time it is not hard to understand why Oaken Shield offered them a contract. They are a little bit different from the later material of the band as they had a keyboard player back then but the keyboards do not get in the way of the other instruments nor the dark, sinister atmosphere created. The live material is perhaps a bit unnecessary in my opinion but if you are a fan of the band you are probably happy about it. Berserk is definitely a band you should check out if you appreciate both early Thyrfing and Darkthrone. There are extreme contrasts here between raging black metal madness and atmospheric folky acoustics.
| Tracklist |
| 1. The Wind Marks Us Its Celtiberian Law |
| 2. Forest Of Souls In The Wolf's Land |
| 3. The Great Celtiberia |
| 4. La Tene's Sons |
| 5. Cries Of Blood And Hate (Live) |
| 6. Astapa's Ashes (Live) |
| 7. Gaze At The Sky (Live) |
| 8. Lost Wisdom (Live) |
: 40.07
| Buy other Berserk albums |
