Opinions on the new Cage (Ancient Evil) album

I gotta say I'm really enjoying it. Of course I've liked all of their stuff. For those of you who don't know they play a kind of extreme power metal. Fans of older Iced Earth and/or Metal Church would probably like them.

I will also second that it is a very enjoyable release. I too appreciate the stuff they have brought out before this release.
There does seem to be a stronger sense of songwriting as a lot of the riffs and vocal lines carry on long after you hear it, and they have varied the pace of the songs a lot. The 'concept' is pretty cool, but I get more of a "Hammer Horror" feel than the "Lovecraft" vibe.

I'm kind of shocked at how few "metal heads" here have heard of this band. They've been around a looong time and put out quite a few good albums.

7thSecond wrote:

I'm kind of shocked at how few "metal heads" here have heard of this band. They've been around a looong time and put out quite a few good albums.

I have every one of their albums except for the new one so I can't comment on it.  I am not much on concept albums so I am in no hurry to pick it up.

7thSecond wrote:

I'm kind of shocked at how few "metal heads" here have heard of this band. They've been around a looong time and put out quite a few good albums.

I think there are several here who've heard of them.I can't comment on the newest album but I like earlier stuff.I really liked Hell Destroyer.

I used to like them a lot but just grew tired of the production. New album is strong but same story for me.

corplhicks wrote:

I used to like them a lot but just grew tired of the production. New album is strong but same story for me.

I assume Stu mixed/mastered it? This guy is such a gifted songwriter/guitar player, but his fascination with loudness mastering goes definitely too far... Although having said that, the new Death Dealer mastering is not so extreme (at least compared to the 1st album), so I have some hopes for Cage too...

Thrasher73 wrote:

7thSecond wrote:

I'm kind of shocked at how few "metal heads" here have heard of this band. They've been around a looong time and put out quite a few good albums.

I think there are several here who've heard of them.I can't comment on the newest album but I like earlier stuff.I really liked Hell Destroyer.

Hell Destroyer was the one album I had but it didn't do much for me. I think I traded it away to someone here when I purged allot of my power metal.

Its a damn good album! Its still growing on me though.

Can't wait to get this. I have their last 4-5 ones, and they're all great. Hell Destroyer is a "desert island" album for me. Start to finish awesomeness.

I finally got to listen to it today, and must say it's a very good album. The production is a bit much at times, and it's hard to hear the singing, but the overall album is great IMO. One of their best cd's so far, out of the few I own. Hell Destroyer is still my favorite I have, but this one is pretty close.

Really sucks, I pre-ordered this thing probably 18 months ago. Finally get it in the mail, and then we pack up and moved a few weeks after I got it. I packed it and forgot all about it till today when I found it in the wrong box. Can't find the book that came with it, but at least I finally got a chance to listen to the damn cd. Going to be playing it quite a bit I think.

Just ordered this one along with darker than black this morning. My first cage albums! Total blind purchase. Can't wait.

Darker than Black is good, production is a little flat but still listenable. I find Ancient Evil too repetitive, when I listen to Cage it's Hell Destroyer or Supremacy of Steel.

Gilbert wrote:

Just ordered this one along with darker than black this morning. My first cage albums! Total blind purchase. Can't wait.

Ordered "Darker than Black" just now myself, think I'll scope this out before any further purchases...

candlemass wrote:

Gilbert wrote:

Just ordered this one along with darker than black this morning. My first cage albums! Total blind purchase. Can't wait.

Ordered "Darker than Black" just now myself, think I'll scope this out before any further purchases...

Chupacabra is a cool, nasty, catchy track on Darker than Black.

Glad I ordered it, damn fine slab of metal!

Lari wrote:

candlemass wrote:

Gilbert wrote:

Just ordered this one along with darker than black this morning. My first cage albums! Total blind purchase. Can't wait.

Ordered "Darker than Black" just now myself, think I'll scope this out before any further purchases...

Chupacabra is a cool, nasty, catchy track on Darker than Black.

Hopefully my Cage Cds will arrive by mail by the end of this week

I picked up a used copy of the Hell Destroyer album. I think it's good, but the production is lacking... like a demo.

The singer is pretty good, maybe a notch below Ripper Owens.

This band treats guitarists/riff writers like interchangeable cogs and has paid a steep price for that.  Their songwriting has greatly suffered post-"Darker than Black".  It's rare for a band to exchange riff writers and get something comparable in quality.

Their debut even has some of their greatest songs on it, which unfortunately few are aware of.

Also, this band commits fan abuse by not editing its own material. Each song is way too long as are the albums overall. This is unfortunately common in today's metal scene.

Temple of Blood wrote:

This band treats guitarists/riff writers like interchangeable cogs and has paid a steep price for that.  Their songwriting has greatly suffered post-"Darker than Black".  It's rare for a band to exchange riff writers and get something comparable in quality.

Their debut even has some of their greatest songs on it, which unfortunately few are aware of.

Also, this band commits fan abuse by not editing its own material.  Each song is way too long as are the albums overall.  This is unfortunately common in today's metal scene.

The songs average about five minutes long, how is that too long? I'm guessing Opeth really drives you crazy then lol

A good quick tempo song should clock in no more than 3 minutes. An "epic" type song should average around 7-10 minutes. Anything longer than that gets boring fast. I love ...AJFA, but sometimes it can be a chore to listen to.