Artist:  Root
   Title: Heritage Of Satan
   Label: Agonia Records  

For 25 years this Czech band has been pulling in the crowds around dark/black metal.  After a four year break, they are back with their tenth album, packed full of guest musicians and new songs.  Being part of the second wave of black metal and influenced by bands such as Bathory and Venom, their sound has been tweaked and refined from the start to incorporate the favourite themes into their music – primarily Satanism, but also looking at the world with a Lovecraftian slant.  There have been plenty of changes over the years but Root is still as heavy and hard as ever.

The album opens with what can only be described as a satanic ritual to call the demons back to Earth from Hell.  The primary vocals are spoken and backed by the odd piano chord that changes and echoes behind them.  This evocation creates a mental picture of a wasteland bereft of anything except the evil below.  The effect of a wind blowing behind only enhances this effect.  Unusually for an introduction, this is quite long, around five minutes, but it does a good job of evoking a different mood in which to listen to the album.

The dark sounding instrumental, mainly the clashing of a cymbal and the drawn out death-rattle type guitar fit neatly behind a vocal that is neither growly or screamo, but encapsulates and use part of each, as well as making the lyrics more discernible as they would normally be on an album of this sort.  The repetitive drumbeat used at times is reminiscent of horse hooves and being chased down.

The guitarwork throughout the album is exquisite, taking on long and complicated solos and main pieces with ease.  This is fed against the drums, which are played to perfection and combine neatly with the little-heard bass.  All exude their own form of power that seems to segue within the album against the vocals, which change throughout, using the powerful vocal range of the vocalist perfectly.  The backing vocals are also perfectly placed and not too obvious or overused, providing a meaty sound when needed.  This album is pure dark/death metal perfection from the masters.

Review by: Kerry H

 Tracklisting:

1. Introprincipio
2. In Nomine Sathanas
3. Legacy Of Ancestors
4. Revenge Of Hell
5. Darksome Prophet
6. Fiery Message
7. Son Of Satan
8. His Coming
9. Greetings From The Abyss
10. The Apocalypse 

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