Poland's Pandemonium released this, their debut album, back in 1994. Then they changed their name to Domain and released some albums under that monicker. In 2004 they decided to go on as Pandemonium again. Since then, they have put out three studio albums. While their newer stuff sounds, well... modern, then this certainly sounds bloody ancient! But hey, that's a big part of its charm.

'The Ancient Catatonia' is filled with evil yet doomy and gloomy metal. It's like an alloy of Samael's 'Blood Ritual' (1992), old Celtic Frost, My Dying Bride prior to 1994 and earlier Christ Agony material. So, Pandemonium's style was something that was not done to death back in the day. Being a mixture of many things, it still mainly revolves around old Samael style. The music is rather slow, but nothing like funeral doom. There are some double kick drumming, but generally, the band's performance sound a bit phlegmatic. They seemed to want to go for stylish playing rather than aggressive.

There are many vibes going on in the music: Mystic, Mid-Eastern, ominous, melancholic and ritualistic. While the songs aren't identical, the album itself is too long. 58 minutes is a long time for any kind of music, and Pandemonium couldn't make this album varying enough. Okay, 'Different Part' is the most doomy song on offer, while 'Winter' has a very beautiful and long intro part. There are long-ish instrumental passages in some of the songs, but however it's the similarity here and there that makes the album stumble at times. The music needs to be listened attentively, because as a background listening it wears thin very fast.

The vocals sound like as they came from a crypt; echoing ghoul-ish growling is the main treat, with some meatier Vader-esque growling. The guitars sound biting and meaty, being the strongest instruments here. There's some open-string playing and acoustics among tight riffing. Varying lead guitar work and solos add mysterious atmosphere, as they feel like they mostly were stream of consciousness. The bass closely follows guitars, but is still nicely audible. My Dying Bride style violin adds some truly somber feelings on three songs. The drums are very basic, but still handle their job well enough. Sound-wise this is okay; definitely clear, but missing some punch. There are a few sound effects (sea, birds, wind, thunderclap), but are used only as spicing, just like synthesizer.

This reissue is well done. The booklet includes lyrics (mainly about Satanism and mysticism), old photos and interviews (sadly all in Polish). The original print is hard to get nowadays, or then getting one will empty your wallet. It's nice to get to hear older releaes, and this isn't an exception. It might not withstand all 58 minutes of it at once, but should be a cocksure purchase for those who love old Samael and why not Christ Agony, too.

Rating: 6+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
02/12/2014 10:30