Cygnus Rock Band - Ancient Visions (album review)

Ancient Visions is Cygnus Rock Band's 3rd Viking album, it was released in 29th June, 2021.

The artwork of Ancient Visions

(source: Facebook/cygnusrockband)

Kind of a "quarantine" album. The pandemic was still raging

does anyone remember?... or you're just like me, thinking back of that as some sort of weird and long nightmare?... or you're normal?

and these wonderful Colombian rockers decided to come up with a new bunch of songs from the depths of their little shrine studio. In the meantime they kept on making their weekly cover releases as well.

I swear, in a sense I miss those times. The world was quiet, everyone was at home, nature cleared up from humane contamination and people came up with beautiful art and music. They baked, read stories... Can we please somehow bring it back? There's too much sadness and desperation, the world needs art and beauty more than ever. Thanks in advance.

This was the first original Cygnus material I've heard, and for this reason Ancient Visions has got and will always have a very special place in my heart. It includes one of my favorite Cygnus songs of all times and this album was the one which changed my mind about folk metal.

More about it later, in the applying song reviews.

I remember I was sincerely and positively surprised by the overture, Fornalda Sýnir. I have listened to countless albums in almost all genres, many of them started with a shorter or longer intro. Some of them were just some noise, some were a song-alike track. But this was a real surprise for me, that a rock/metal band makes an entire symphonic overture by classical music traditions. My curiosity was quite aroused by it. 

Though I admit here, it felt homey and warm around my heart when I heard the first notes of Raise Your Horns. Starting with a beautiful folk intro, rich orchestration and traditional rock instruments go hand in hand in this very upbeat, melodic song, where Deneb and Ruxx sing in duet. Often described as the album's "party song", 

even though I refuse these cheap indicative words for Cygnus's songs like "party song" or "sexy song", because I'm aware of how much work, dedication, time, enthusiasm and love is behind each and every one of them and I'm unwilling to lower either myself or the band down on this trivial level, and I'm convinced that they and their work deserve much more than such a tabloid language

feel free to call me snobbish, actually you'll be right

it has got exactly that kind of nature which makes you walk with easier steps even on a gloomy day, and no matter how down you feel, it will make you smile at the end. 

Odin's Wolves is the opposite of the opening track. The pace of the song is the same, but here the melodic tunes disappear, offering space for heavier, or as we say it in my mother tongue, "galooping" rhythms. The song's heavy bass and strong guitars bring back the memory of some old school power metal bands. This is one of those songs the audience loves on concerts; perfect for those in the mosh pit as well as for those who are headbanging near the stage. And of course a perfect song to make the fans sing aloud for the chorus. 

The pace slows down with Pagan Orgy;

as I know that the majority of you out there has a rather low-level thinking, I want to underline once again that I'm not willing to sell out the gems of my favorite band with vulgar qualifiers; keep that in mind and educate yourselves

it's a piece that is much more than anything the first impression may show. It's based on a beautiful folk melody, with many folk/acoustic instruments; side by side a flute, a tiple and strings with the usual bass, electric guitar and drums. It can trick the listener with its theme easily, and I bet too many people will fall for this trap; but if someone clears out the earwax from their auditory meatuses and rubs off the rust from their brain, then they will be able to hear the real beauty of this song. Lots of hidden instruments playing hide-and-seek with the listener and with the humane voices and if there's any song that is really worth listen to a million times, then this is the one (though not the only one on this album) because you'll be able to find something new every time you listen to it.

Vegvisir is a raw and powerful piece with the guest appearance of a tagelharpa in the song's intro. It tells the story of a wounded warrior seeking his path, offering his prayers to the mighty and magical Viking compass. The song's beauty lies not just in the contrast of the humane voice vs. nuclear bass in the stanzas, but the minimalism of the stanzas vs. the rich orchestration of the choruses.

The next song, Huginn and Muninn is one of the most beautiful power ballads the band has ever written. It's one of those rare pieces by Cygnus that is entirely acoustic. Although at first it seems to be a simple song, again it has got a lot of hidden gems.

And no, I'm not thinking of the ambiental noises only. 

Tears of Gold is another ballad; this tradition appears on other (later) Cygnus albums that the ballads appear after one another, which reminds me a bit of the acoustic block of a rock concert when the pace of the gig slows down, both the musicians and the audience can rest and get a bit closer to each other, sometimes literally, too.

This song is one of the most beautiful ones of the album. Again full of hidden gems, it's a prayer offered to goddess Frejya. It has probably the most beautiful orchestration of the entire Ancient Visions. Both Ruxx and Deneb show the top of their singing qualities.

Every Cygnus album traditionally contains an instrumental song, on Ancient Visions it is titled Folkgressive. This is a massive musical orgasm. Every note, every instrument, every beat of it is the embodiment of beauty. It's 100% folk, it even includes the mysterious shaman drum from the hidden corners of Cygnus's little studio. What is more, in this song even the humane voices appearing function as instruments. 

Yes, these rockers can do that, too. Not many singers can say this about themselves.

For me the greatest, most complex song of the album is definitely Beware of Loki. It's again pure metal with demanding rhythms, it's one of Ruxx's best performances as a drummer. Also, let me quote again my mother tongue, whomever plays the guitar, needs his hand to be covered with gold. 

What makes this song especially interesting among others is that it breaks the tradition of Cygnus song solos, namely that a folk or orchestration part introduces the guitar; here the solo is splitted into a part played by keyboards and into another one that is a traditional - and quite well-built - guitar solo.

Victory or Valhalla is the other power ballad of the album. Very symphonic, with beautiful harmonies, hidden gems and it even include a very special effect made by these Colombians personally, only for this song - but more about it in the song review that's coming soon. The chorus - where this effect can be found - will give goosebumps to the listener with its timpani 

don't mix them up with the floor toms; both are powerful and present in the song, but timpani are timpani

and then the solo here is again unique, because it's entirely symphonic.

Gulli Tár closes the album, it's the old Norse version of Tears of Gold. Musically it's the very same as the song mentioned above, just our beloved rockers sing it in the language of the Viking warriors.

Ancient Visions on Spotify:

Ancient Visions as a YouTube-playlist: