ANTIQUUS - CANADA

ANTIQUUS - RAMAYANA
Antiquus is an interesting band for not only it hails from the relatively metal-barren west coast of Canada, but the band's monicker, style and music are not quite standard fare. Generally speaking, releasing a full-length demo is not tin an unsigned band's interest. As with any band, putting ten tracks on a demo is bound to present a mix of material, both good and bad. The approach might work in countries, like Germany, where a band can live solely off the unsigned circuit of distributors, shows and festivals. In Canada, and elsewhere, bands have to put their best foot forward for record companies and releasing a dull-length is consequently risky. Having said that Antiquus has set up a network of distributors and, more importantly, is actually good. The demo features four standalone songs and a six-song concept called Ramayana - An Epic In Six Parts which transports the band from India to Sri Lanka and beyond to the universe! It is interesting and well-presented and so is the music which is pleasantly colourful. The quartet goes from Virgin Killer-era Scorpions - we need more music like this - to Iron Maiden and to Slayer, the latter on the song Changeling. The band's approach works most of the time too. The intricacies of Sri Lanka and the moods of Ayodha, A Beautiful Stag and He Who Makes The Universe Scream! are testament to the band's talent. Antiquus needs to tighten its arrangements a tad and things will certainly fall in place. Check these guys out by visiting www.antiquus.net or e-mail info@antiquus.net for information. - Ali "The Metallian"

ANTIQUUS - ELEUTHERIA - CRUZ DEL SUR  
West Coast’s Antiquus has a serious affinity for Greek mythology and concept stories as heard on the band’s 2005 demo and this debut album. The group is out-of-place in Western Canada where metal - let alone traditional heavy metal - is at a premium. Still, a little is better than none at all and fans would be welcoming of this quintet. Antiquus clearly has a lot of talent and moreover has spent a lot of time nursing and developing its material. This is neither throwaway nor short and straightforward material. The group plays around with complex storylines and a good mixture of power metal.
Unfortunately, while the band knows its instruments and Jesse White has an impressive range to work with neither party knows how to employ its arsenal. A perfect example is the song Mechanismo which starts with an amazing riff before plummeting under the sheer weight of White’s non-stop yells. Part IV Redemption is probably the single best track here, although each and every song features at least a couple of amazing interludes. Did we discuss the above average length of the songs? The band does well when it picks up the pace and gets going, which is something Antiquus should do more of given how the music tends to plod here and there. Then there are the songs O Captain, My Captain and Leaves of Grass which both begin with the same riff. The drumming of Andrew Bak also suffers for the man tends to chop up the music with his incongruous beats. In fact, he often sounds disruptive.
This band has a lot of potential. A new drummer, a producer and some more speed would help it get there. - Ali “the Metallian”