After covering The Dark Realms for a Bandcamp article, The Ragnarok Prophecy was bookmarked to ensure that any future releases wouldn’t fall below the radar. With a bit over a year since The Dark Realms, The Ragnarok Prophecy is back with even greater ambitions for the newest effort, Makeria. The first in a multiple-album spanning series, Makeria tells the tale of the early history of the album title’s civilization.
Upon listening to Makeria, you’d be hard-pressed to think that The Ragnarok Prophecy is the creation of one man. But in fact, everything here is the work of one A.C. Riddle. For those unfamiliar with the sound of The Ragnarok Prophecy, it’s rooted in melodic death metal, with some occasional dabbling in folk (check out the great instrumental opener “Homeland”). Riddle’s ability to create some pretty awe-inspiring riffs is really the key to Makeria’s success. Merging thrashy, full-speed melodic death metal with epic synths and lush melodies occurs throughout the album, but some clear highlights include the catchy melodies of “The Lost Race,” thundering riffs of “Bringers of Plagues,” and the closing majesty of “A Legend Untold.” With a conceptual album such as this, you are pretty hard pressed to find a cut that doesn’t hit the mark, and there is some great flow to the release. It’s also worth noting that each track represents a particular section of history that will be visited with later releases, so it will be interesting to see if there are any homages or nods to the songs from this release with future material.
With no shortage of ambition and productivity (this is the fourth album in three years after all), things are looking up for The Ragnarok Prophecy. Continued progression seems to be the name of the game, with great songwriting prowess in tow and a confident vision towards future releases. The album is available through Bandcamp for a “name your price” download so fans of melodic death metal have no excuse for not checking this one out.