To offer fans a compilation of Ancient Rites material of the last decade, the band recorded a live performance in the Belgium Biebob venue on June 14th, 2002. The packed Biebob obviously went crazy hearing these local heroes from Flanders (a part of Belgium). From beginning to end you can hear the audience screaming and singing along to the lyrics and the melodies. Communication with the audience takes place in various languages due to the international character of the people present; French, German, Dutch, Belgian. One thing is for sure; if there is anything a band needs at gigs such as these, it’s an audience like the one you hear on this album. The band members must have truly enjoyed it. The songs on this live album cover the entire Ancient Rites discography, varying from “Evil Prevails”, “Total Misanthropia” and “Blood Of Christ” from earlier releases to “Fatherland”, “Aris” and “Mother Europe” from the more recent Fatherland release.

But their latest Dim Carcosa is also well represented by songs such as “On Golden Fields” (De Leeuwen Dansen), “Victory or Valhalla”, “And the Horns Called for War”, “North Sea” and “Gotterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods)”. The production is alright and is further enhanced by the extra mixing and mastering done in Germany, and the fact that the band played an infallible show. A pleasant extra is the band’s background information, which you can find in the CD-booklet. I guess I am going to look for the accompanying DVD to this gig. For the true fans this is a cool live compilation, for all the rest of you the album is a must in the process of getting to know this hardworking band.