Ancient was originally a solo- project of guitarist and composer
Aphazel, started in Norway in the year of 1992. Aphazel quickly
developed his project of atmospheric and dark Black Metal into a full
band with Grimm as vocalist/ drummer. The two released the "Eerily
Howling Winds" demo and the "Det Glemte Riket" 7" in the years 1993 and
1994, and the band quickly established a strong following in the
underground Black Metal scene worldwide, and, among others, Listenable
Records/ Osmose noticed the potential of this band and released the
debut album of Ancient namely "Svartalvheim". This album was bound to
be one of the most sold and appreciated of this musical genre and is
today considered a Black Metal classic. The mini album "Trolltaar"
followed a year later and ended up being the last release with Grimm,
who went into other directions musically.



Aphazel moved to USA and recruited Lord Kaiaphas as the new
vocalist. Impressed by his performance in the bands Grand Belial‘s Key
and Thokk, he was sure of his talent and value for the band. An
extensive contract with Metal Blade Records was signed and in 1996,
together with Kimberly Goss and Kjetil, they released the "The Cainian
Chronicle" filled with big guitars and great atmospheres, followed by a
European tour and the video, "Lilith‘s Embrace". This album also went
on to become a classic in the genre.


1997, a few line- up changes took place and the album "Mad
Grandiose Bloodfiends" was released, introducing guitarist/ keyboardist
Jesus Christ ! A huge world tour followed, and afterwards, tired of
life in the USA , Aphazel decided to move to back to Europe, this time
Italy , after having met female vocalist Deadly Kristin.


1999 brought "The Halls Of Eternity", a return to a heavier sound
with Aphazel as the band’s new vocalist, and Dhilorz was recruited on
bass. Some touring followed including the band’s first tour through
Scandinavia . In 2000 Ancient did an impressive performance at the
Wacken festival with new respected drummer Grom, receiving an excellent
feedback by press, record company and fans. The mini album "God Loves
The Dead" was released in January 2001, including special material like
re-mixes, a cover, videos and other special material along with the
title track, a release mainly for the die hard fans, waiting for the
release of “Proxima Centauri”.


Recorded at the studio of Andy La Rocque, Los Angered Recording,
and mastered at Sterling Sound, the band had created not just a
masterpiece, but also an album with a production far better than the
previous releases. "Proxima Centauri", an album showing a great leap
forward for the band, in all ways possible, showed a style more
aggressive, heavier, more technical and complete than the Ancient from
the past. A long tour followed and Ancient visited new places this time
- like Mexico, East Europe, and was proud to be the first black metal
band to ever visit countries like Israel, Bulgaria and Romania ( by the
famous Transilvania region). After this, another line- up change took
place and Deadly Kristin left the band due to practical reasons.


Now, 2 ½ years have passed since the release of “Proxima Centauri”
and finally “Night Visit” arrives. This time with more input from all
band members, the album shows several new elements in the band’s sound
resulting in an album not only well performed and composed, but also in
a great evolution for the band. Including the promo-video for the
title- track ( a story about a girl assailed by the dead), and a guest
appearance of Lord Kaiaphas in the track “Rape The Children Of Abel”,
this is a release all Ancient fans have been waiting for. Mixed by
Fredrik Nordström at Sweden 's famous Studio Fredman, Night Visit has
been gathering a lot of interest from newer fans. It is an aggressive
album, with great power and heaviness, yet with a good amount of
melodic and atmospheric parts which creates the sound of Ancient 2004.
As always, the band offers a good variety of songs, which results in an
album hard to get bored of quickly. Ancient now have returned from the
official European Tour of ‘Night VisiTour’ with Denmark’s Illdisposed
(Roadrunner Recs.) as co-headliners and are in the midst of embarking
on further tours in U.S., Canada, East Europe and more, to bring their
music to every possible corner of the globe. Beware their Nocturnal
Visit !