A brilliant Thrash album, that goes beyond the odd boundaries of Thrash Metal.

After a couple of demos, ANCIENT DOME have their first full-length out.. finally! "Human Key" comes up with 11 songs in total, of whom 5 tracks are subsumed as "The Human Key Saga". The opener "Ancient Dome" immediately shows one of the two dominating lines on that album - pure In-your-face-Thrash. Crushing riffs, harsh & mean vocals, cool soloing, gang shouts and a galloping rhythm section- all you can offer to satisfy a thrasher`s soul. "State of Regression" brings up the second AD trademark - Melodic Power. The track begins as a stomping mid-tempo Power-Thrasher with loads of suspension and varieties in the song-structure, then turns into a hunting Thrasher. "The Human Key Saga" starts with a mystic intro, but soon slips into "Tyrants", a brilliant melodic power-song, again with great breaks, tempo- and rhythm-changes. The opening melodic solo and the hunting main lead round up, what the whole band created here - a great epic Power-Thrasher. Now the title-track "Human Key" follows to proof that this can still be raised, namely into nothing short of a melodic Power-Thrash-Epos! The song has too much ingredients to mention all - melody, style, instrumental skills, intelligent & passionate songwriting, riffs, speed, and what more - you name it! "Aeons" and "Fall of the Dominion", two fine straight Power-Thrashers, finish the saga. Track 8 is the big surprise of the album - "Cold September", a fuckin strong half-ballad, with guest singer Cesare Zanotti, who`s singing like the forgotten son of Bruce Dickinson, who listened a lot to James Hetfield... Brilliant vocals and a phantastic song, in the best veins of Metallica`s ballads (without sounding like a clone). "Lost Creatures" and "Architect of Dreams" again offer AD`s fine arts - Power-Thrash with melody and great rhythmic variations. "Total Command" is closing the book as a Speedster with fine twin-guitar work and some progressive touches. That were 44 minutes of pure quality. ANCIENT DOME offer a wide range of musical skills, styles and ideas. The highlights of "Human Key" are the harsh, typical Thrash vocals by Paolo Porro, his elite songwriting (that gives AD a unique style), the convictive guitar work, the breaks (that always come natural) and the rhythm section, that is never up-front, but always driving the songs. The sound is rawer and heavier than on the pre-productions, what gives it an extra kick. Artwork and lyrics bring an interesting concept of human life in modern society and technology. Like musically, AD offer here intelligent and emotional class in their expression. A very refreshing variation in the whole new Thrash scene, which is dominated by plain poser-hunt lyrics, changeable cover artwork and pure retro-Tharsh nowadays. "Human Key" is Thrash with class & balls, that breaks the borders of Thrash Metal. Period! Just to give Ancient Dome newbies a direction - Testament, Metallica, Overkill and Heathen made ground in the 80s, for what AD are celebrating in a unique and modern way on "Human Key". With it`s loads of variations, the album should satisfy fans from most Metal genres. Songs to check: Human Key, Ancient Dome, Cold September, Tyrants Punishment 18 Records / 2009