Band:	Ragnarok
Album:	Collectors Of The King
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	March 22, 2010
Guest review by:	Windrider

01. Resurrection
02. Stabbed By The Horns
03. Burning The Earth
04. In Honour Of Satan
05. Collectors Of The King
06. Eternal Damnation
07. The Ancient Crown Of Glory
08. May Madness Hunt You Down
09. Wisdom Of Perfection
10. Maze Of The Abyss [vinyl edition bonus]

Besides many other sub styles in black metal many say the truest of them is the typical blast beat and tremolo attack "svartmetal" such as Gorgoroth and, in this case, Ragnarok. Produced by a well known black metal label Regain Records, Collectors Of The King is also a very typical album of this style. It all starts off with the intro "Resurrection" which makes the listener witness a failed exorcism ending in slaughter. Although a bit weird at the first moment, it later proves to open the album in a suitable way. Right after that one will notice that the gates are wide open now with all the instruments and vocals breaking through as if about to slay the listener. From the first moment you will know that this is going to be a nice experience and a satisfying album.

The following songs are quite what one would expect when buying this album. The lyrics are mainly satanic and concern death, destruction and Satan as a figure itself. New vocalist HansFyrste, who wrote almost all the lyrics, does a good job screaming the hell out of his throat. The album has many awesome riffs played by Brigge, a very good guitarist supporting the tremolo attack faction. A small downside in songwriting are the bass-lines. I think Decepticon could do much better but the bass plays only an attendant role. Overall it is solid but nothing special. There could have been furious bass-lines for this music but maybe they will be improved on the next album. The best job by far is done by the drummer Jontho who plays furiously, providing the amazing drum parts which seem to take the album in higher spheres. He could truly be considered one of the best black metal drummers.

The best track on Collectors Of The King is the opener "Stabbed By The Horns", a superior black metal song! At first listen it all sounds fresh and unspent containing the most brutal performance of HansFyrste on this album and showing how well this band can perform. Another masterpiece is the title song where you get the most awesome riff after being put off by the countless repeating intro. One could listen to this all day and night. Besides other highlights such as "Burning The Earth" there are also some fillers such as "Ancient Crown Of Glory".

Overall this is a very good black metal album but I think the band has got even more potential. It contains some very good highlights. Despite some minor flaws this release is worth listening to.