2024 continues strong. After Volcandra’s 2022 EP Border World, which delivered grade-A melodic black metal with a thrashy edge, I was pretty hyped for the newest effort from the Kentucky quintet, all the more so when they declared that they were going for a more aggressive approach with The Way of Ancients. Sure enough, lead single “Fouled Sanctity” highlights those thrash inclinations throughout the verses before exploding into a fantastically melodic chorus: “Fantastic” is doubly apt here; in case the video’s protagonists Vape Knight and Skelly Mage didn’t give it away, the album’s overarching concept puts us firmly back in … Continue reading Review: Volcandra – The Way of Ancients