Year: 2019
Total Time: 60:02
Label: Cruz del Sur Music/Van Records

Is ATLANTEAN KODEX the best Epic Heavy Metal band now? Yes! They had already made it clear from 2013’s “The Golden Goddess.” However, because in the meantime we had some really good releases in the scene (ETERNAL CHAMPION, VISIGOTH, GATECREEPER), the band felt that they had to return with something that would establish them as their kings of the genre. And it turns out they didn’t have much trouble getting it done.

“The Course of Empire” finds the Germans in their familiar sound ranging between MANOWAR, BATHORY (“Blood on Ice”) and the epic Doom of SOLSTICE and DOOMSWORD. Of course the band’s influences don’t stop there, but they draw inspiration from anything epic, be it MANILLA ROAD or even BLIND GUARDIAN, as you can hear in the astounding “He Who Walks Behind The Years”, which brings to mind the sound of “Imaginations from the “Other Side” with its melancholic medieval melodies.

So what does the new album offer in relation to its awesome predecessor? Quite simply, this time ATLANTEAN KODEX’s amplifier went to 11! The sound became even more epic! The atmosphere darkened imposingly, the classic heavy metal elements switched to attack mode, the choruses became catchier while the production delivered a recital of magnificence. From the very beginning with “The Alpha and the Occident”, the band prepares you for what comes next.

A huge Doom lead guitar greets us straight away, followed by Markus Becker’s crystal-clear vocals. A galloping riff comes next leading us this way to the first song of the record, “The People of the Moon”. An epic Heavy Metal anthem that reminds me the mighty IRON MAIDEN of “Quest of Fire” as well as those two phenomenal works of LOST HORIZON! WARLORD lend a hand in “Lion of Chaldea” while in “’Chariots” Quorthon works together with CANDLEMASS on the fastest track on the album. On the contrary, in “A Secret Byzantium” the pace drops quite a bit and along with the lyrics, it adds an ominous tone of past greatness. The album concludes triumphantly with the eponymous “The Course of Empire”, which clocks just under 11 minutes and is one of the band’s most epic compositions. The group revisits the theme of the introduction, thus completing the concept of the rise and fall of various glorious empires of the past. All songs range between 6 and 11 minutes and contain enough changes to keep the listener’s interest without tiring him. This is due to the band’s great song writing talent that moves with ease from epic Heavy Metal to epic Doom Metal. The only flaw in this masterful work, I think it’s the lack of progress. The band did perfect its sound, but after six years of waiting we would have liked to hear something we had never heard before in the previous releases of the Bavarians. Between us, however, this just the fine print and it shouldn’t distract anyone from the fact that ATLANTEAN KODEX has achieved greatness once again!

Rating: 9/10
Editor: Dimitris Benetatos
Related Link: Atlantean Kodex – Official site