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Atlantean Kodex: The White Goddess

Epic/Heavy/Power Metal

4.5/5.0

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20 Buck Spin Records (US) / Cruz del Sur Music (EU)
by Craig Hartranft
09.26.2013

Atlantean Kodex never does anything half way or small. Nope. Everything from concept to lyrics to music and vocal arrangements is meant to be huge, bombastic, and overwhelming. Their second long player, The White Goddess, can't be that simple. It must have a subtitle, the enigmatic, A Grammar of Poetic Myth.

Atlantean Kodex The White Goddess Band Photo

Atlantean Kodex: lit up.

Enigmatic explains much about Atlantean Kodex, especially in the concept and lyrics. The could be continuing the tale from the The Golden Bough, thanks to the cryptic and elliptical quasi-religious and mythological thread running through the songs. And every song title has it's own subtitle, of course. Duh. Trumpets of Doggerland (There were Giants in the Earth in those Days), for instance, which opens the album.

Musically, the album consist of eight tracks, four at better than 10 minutes with three shorter pieces, the aforementioned Trumpets, the intro the other two segues. The longer pieces are, typical of AK, grand and expansive filled with boundless riffage, thundering drums, and Becker's powerful vocals, all delivered at pass only a few steps up from Candlemass-style epic doom metal. It's tough to pick a favorite of the four. But it's likely Sol Invictus (With Faith and Fire) because it has more shifts in tempo and a cool choral refrain.

Then there's the Twelve Stars and an Azure Gown (An Anthem for Europa) at all but eight minutes. The title obviously refers to the European Union flag. Laced within there are several selections from Churchill's 1946 speech in Zurich about post-war Europe and the possibility of recovering its former glory. Also the The White Goddess is introduced and speaks, albeit cryptically, about war being the father of all, brothers being reunited, and her eventual return. Strangely enough it's probably the most accessible song thanks to the melodic lead guitar line.

With The White Goddess, Atlantean Kodex have both advanced their own craft and raised the bar for most every band in epic heavy metal field. Easily recommended.

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