Eliminator - Ancient Light

Journeying through the Cosmos.

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on February 13th 2022) 

Trad metal has been a genre that has slowly grown on me over the past few years. Outside of Iron Maiden, it was never much of a genre that caught my interest, due to its supposed “lack of extremity”. 2021 though was a year which saw me indulge in the style way more than I usually do, and resulted in me getting hooked on a good number of bands, both new and old. Since then, I’ve been keeping an eye out for any releases in the style. One recent release that caught my attention was Eliminator’s Ancient Light, and let me tell you, it wasn’t without reason.
This album is an antithesis to everything Iron Maiden has been doing for the past 15 years. There are no overblown, dragged out epics here, or plodding tempos that fail to get the blood pumping (why was Senjutsu well received again?), but there is one very important thing: passion, something our aforementioned legends have been in short supply of for the past 15 years.
Ancient Light is pure, distilled heavy metal, full of high-octane riffing, catchy choruses and energy. From the opening of “Arrival”, the band kicks things into high gear and doesn’t let up. Almost every track is less than 6 minutes long, barring “Foreverless”, and doesn’t waste your time with any excess theatrics. Whether it’s the bass intro in “Silent Stone”, the manic chorus of “Mercy”, or the dramatic closer “The Nightmare of Aeon”, there is no shortage of memorable moments here, and the band remains laser focused throughout the album’s 50 minute runtime.
Seeing as this band is unadulterated Maiden worship, I would be remiss not to discuss the vocals presented here. Danny Foster’s performance is an absolute treat for the ears, with his gruff mid-range dominating most of the songs, with him also belting out some piercing screams akin to those of Rob Halford and prime Dickinson. His vocal performance is the main reason why the (admittedly simple) choruses manage to stick. The way the chorus to “Mercy” becomes more and more manic with each repetition is just *chef’s kiss*.
The production is also another aspect of the album where the band knocked it out of the park. It’s bright and full, bringing the most out of the melodic lead work, without being overly saccharine. The guitars have a nice crunch to them, the bass is plonky and supplements the rhythms, and the drums are crisp and powerful. All that is further supported by a perfect mix, where everything is audible at all times, even when Danny is singing.
While I do enjoy this album a lot, and consider it to be a great time, I can’t help but bring up my one complaint with it, that being the pacing. The album maintains a high energy throughout, with the band either going full speed or at a mid-to-upper tempo gait, but the final two tracks are both slow burners, and grind the album’s pacing to a halt. While I’m not bothered by the positioning of “The Nightmare of Aeon”, since it’s the closer, “Foreverless” would’ve been better placed somewhere around the middle of the album. It isn’t a bad song, but it kneecaps the album’s pacing by being second-to-last in the tracklist, and could’ve been a great change of pace if one rearranged things a little.
On the whole, Ancient Light embodies all of heavy metal’s tenets. It’s fast, energetic and above all else, fun. It wears its influences proudly on its sleeve, all while brimming with creativity and excitement. It’s an easy recommendation for anyone into trad, and especially those who have been disappointed by Iron Maiden’s post-2006 offerings. I mean come on, most of the songs here pack the same energy as “Aces High”, how can you not love that?
Highlights: Arrival, Silent Stone, Mercy, The Nightmare of Aeon

Rating: 83% 

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