{"id":43630,"date":"2025-05-21T23:05:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T21:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/?p=43630"},"modified":"2025-05-24T23:13:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T21:13:19","slug":"ancient-bards-artifex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/?p=43630","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Bards \u2013 Artifex"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ffffff00;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"><em>Releasedate:   <\/em>25-04-2025<br><em>Label: <\/em>Limb Music<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">Ancient Bards, hailing from Rimini, Italy, have been a formidable force in the symphonic power metal scene since 2006. With their fifth full-length album, Artifex, they continue to push the boundaries of their genre, delivering an epic narrative and a sonically rich experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\"><em>Artifex<\/em> is an album that blends symphonic elements with power metal, creating a cinematic auditory experience. The album is a continuation of &#8220;The Black Crystal Sword Saga,&#8221; a narrative crafted by pianist and producer Daniele Mazza. The compositions are featuring intricate orchestrations and a 42-strong choir that elevate the storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vocalist Sara Squadrani delivers a powerful performance, her voice soaring over the complex arrangements. Guest appearances by Francesco Cavalieri (Wind Rose) and Mark Jansen (Epica) add depth and variety to the vocal landscape. The instrumentation is top-notch, with Claudio Pietronik&#8217;s lead guitar work and Simone Bertozzi&#8217;s rhythm guitar and growls providing a solid foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The track &#8220;The Empire of Black Death&#8221; stands out with its fusion of symphonic power metal and elements of death metal, showcasing the band&#8217;s versatility. &#8220;Unending&#8221; offers a poignant ballad, highlighting Squadrani&#8217;s emotive vocal range. The album concludes with the title track, &#8220;Artifex,&#8221; bringing the saga to a powerful close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\"><em>Artifex<\/em> is a testament to Ancient Bards&#8217; commitment to their craft, delivering an album that is both musically complex and narratively compelling. Fans of symphonic and power metal will find this album to be a captivating journey through a richly constructed musical landscape.<a href=\"https:\/\/metal-temple.com\/review\/ancient-bards-artifex\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Line up:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sara Squadrani \u2013 Vocals<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Daniele Mazza \u2013 Piano, Orchestrations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Claudio Pietronik \u2013 Lead Guitar<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Simone Bertozzi \u2013 Rhythm Guitar, Growls<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Martino Garattoni \u2013 Bass<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Federico Gatti \u2013 Drums<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns has-2-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43631\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\"><strong>Tracklist<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Luminance and Abyss<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>My Prima Nox<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Vessel<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Empire of Black Death<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unending<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ministers of Light<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Proximity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Soulbound Symphony<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>My Blood and Blade<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mystic Echoes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Under the Shadow<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sea of Solitude<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Artifex<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">Links:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ancientbards.bandcamp.com\/\">Bandcamp<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/leaveseyes.de\"><br><\/a><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Releasedate: 25-04-2025Label: Limb Music Ancient Bards, hailing from Rimini, Italy, have been a formidable force in the symphonic power metal scene since 2006. With their fifth full-length album, Artifex, they continue to push the boundaries of their genre, delivering an epic narrative and a sonically rich experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43631,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cddvd-reviews"],"featured_image_url":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-150x150.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-300x300.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-768x768.jpg","large":"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-1024x1024.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10.jpg","ultp_layout_landscape_large":"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-1200x800.jpg","ultp_layout_landscape":"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-870x570.jpg","ultp_layout_portrait":"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-600x900.jpg","ultp_layout_square":"https:\/\/tempelores.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/a2888637711_10-600x600.jpg"},"post_author":"Sabine van Gameren","assigned_categories":"CD\/DVD Reviews","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ancient Bards \u2013 Artifex - Tempelores Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ancient Bards, hailing from Rimini, Italy, have been a formidable force in the symphonic power metal scene since 2006. 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