White Skull - The Ring Of The Ancients (2006)

Since their 1999 classic TALES FROM THE NORTH, White Skull, disappointingly, have not been able to record anything nearly as good as that one, even though their output has been quite reasonable overall. And here, with The Ring Of The Ancients, they continue the trend.
It's pretty good, fairly ferocious metal, but once the opening songs "Ninth Night" and "Guardians" have done their bit, you pretty much know what you're going to get with the rest of the record.
Except towards the end, where "King With The Silver Hand" and "Marching To Alesia" bring back a touch of the old glories, suggesting that maybe a return to major form is not far away.  Also, between these two is a cover of Black Sabbath's "Valhalla". Look, with the obvious exception of Hell, has there ever been another place about which heavy metal bands like to sing so much? Valhalla just seems to crop up all over the place.
After this release, Gustavo Gabarrò left the mircophone, and White Skull went back to a female singer, although, at first, not Federica De Boni. Elisa de Palma entered the fray for 2009's FOREVER FIGHT.

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