Ancient VVisdom‘s debut A Godlike Inferno was released on a much smaller label than the one on which they currently reside, and it took a little while for people to catch on to the band’s evil neo-folk. Finally, though, listeners succumbed to the band’s dark vibe, drawn in by Ancient VVisdom’s semi-acoustic metal hymns. Though faced with the difficult task of following such a well-received debut, the band has fortunately avoided the sophomore slump. Deathlike sonically improves on the first record, while lead singer Nathan Opposition’s lyrical obsessions are taken into newer and still very dark directions.

While A Godlike Inferno was a lo-fi treat, this new recording has better production that is lush and full. In addition, Opposition has expanded beyond his themes of the occult and Satanism (though they are still there in the background) and has included Nietzschian philosophical principles, apocalyptic themes, and a very dark view of humanity into his lyrics. The evil is still there, yet more subtle.

The opening instrumental “The Beginning” sets the tone with ominous acoustic guitar, some electric guitar feedback, and stomping percussion. This gives way to the opening hymn, “Let The End Begin,” where Oppostion sings the praises of the end. From there, the title track features dark electric guitar accents to go along with some well-placed vocal harmonies, and begs for a transcendence from the flesh. “Far Beyond Good And Evil” is a Nietzschian dirge which brings some darkly majestic glam-rock influenced electric guitar to the surface.

“Waiting To Die” is pretty and pretty dark, while “Rebirth” adds more anthemic electric guitars to the mix. “Never Live Again” mines the whole quiet/loud dynamic with Sabbathy guitar, and “Last Man On Earth” is a stompy, haunted voodoo-blues number.

AVV has crafted a fine follow up to their debut, which in many ways outdoes the original in terms of song craft and a gloomy atmosphere. If you want some tunes that are still dark and bleak but don’t just rely on volume and screaming to get the point across, then you should really check this out. It’s a fine sophomore release.

(Prosthetic Records, 8713 Aviation Blvd., Inglewood, CA 90301)