The project, originated in the mind of Daniele Mazza, started to materialize in 2006 after Daniele met with bass player Martino Garattoni. The first stable line up was completed in 2007, with Sara Squadrani as singer, Alessandro Carichini as drummer, and Claudio Pietronik and Fabio Balducci as guitarists.
In September 2010, Alessandro left the band, to be replaced by a new drummer Federico Gatti. The latest line-up change occurred in the end of 2013 after recording the third album A New Dawn Ending, when Balducci left the band for personal reasons. Permanent replacement for Fabio has not been announced yet, but for live shows in 2014 the band has been joined by Simone Bertozzi as a guest second guitarist.
Albums
The style and concept of their 2010 debut album, The Alliance of the Kings, has been seen as inspired by fellow Italian band Rhapsody of Fire. The album is the first part of The Black Crystal Sword Saga with each song making up a single "episode"
The Italian and German editions of Metal Hammer commented on the "sophisticated songwriting" in this release. The latter magazine also found similarities to Anette Olzon in singer Sara Squadrani's voice.
The band's second album, Soulless Child, was released in 2011. It continues The Black Crystal Sword Saga introduced in the previous album. The reviewers of Metal Hammer Germany and Rock Hard agreed that the album had a tendency towards kitsch. While Metal Hammer found several positive remarks about individual tracks, Rock Hard criticised a lack of original hooks.
In April 2014, a third album, A New Dawn Ending, was released. This concluded the first part of The Black Crystal Sword Saga, making that section a complete trilogy.
Ancient Bards announced their fourth album in June 2018 entitled Origine - The Black Crystal Sword Saga Part 2. It is the beginning the second part of The Black Crystal Sword Saga and was released on 25 January 2019. They also announced on their Facebook page that touring guitarist Simone Bartozzi had been made a permanent band member after touring with them since 2014.
Dinanzi Al Flagello
Ancient Bards Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Full moon in the night
Our fate will come
Ideals of a past
that now is forgotten
Nothing will meet death
Full moon in the night
Ideals of a past
that now is forgotten
Life -of ours
And terror thounders
persistingly in the mind
Now -it'll change
He -is going to die
We're before the scourge
destiny preserved for us
And terror thounders
persistingly in the mind
Ideals of a past
that now is forgotten
The song Dinanzi Al Flagello by Ancient Bards speaks about a group of people who are facing their fate under the full moon in the night. They reminisce about the ideals of their past which are now forgotten and how nothing can escape death. The lyrics mention how terror persistently runs through their minds, and with the realization that their destiny is preserved for them, they await their impending fate. As they stand before the scourge, they know that they will have to face their terror and that it will change their lives forever. The song ends with the acknowledgement that their past ideals are no longer relevant.
The lyrics convey a certain sense of foreboding and an acceptance of fate as the group of people face what is to come. The mention of past ideals that are now forgotten highlights how things have changed, and there is a sense of inevitability in the lyrics. The terror persisting in their minds also adds to the intense emotions conveyed by the song. Overall, the lyrics paint a picture of a group of people who are ready to face their fate, and the sense of finality in the lyrics is quite profound.
Line by Line Meaning
Full moon in the night
The full moon in the night signifies an impending event.
Our fate will come
Something significant will happen and we cannot escape it.
Ideals of a past that now is forgotten
We have abandoned our principles and values from the past.
Nothing will meet death
We will survive this challenge and come out stronger.
Full moon in the night
The full moon continues to shine, and our destiny is still uncertain.
Life -of ours
Our existence is being threatened.
And terror thunders persistingly in the mind
Fear has taken over our thoughts and emotions.
Now -it'll change
There is hope for a positive outcome.
He -is going to die
The cause of our troubles will no longer be a threat.
We're before the scourge
We are facing a great and terrible challenge.
Destiny preserved for us
Our fate is already determined and cannot be changed.
Ideals of a past that now is forgotten
We regret abandoning our previous values and wish to regain them.
Contributed by Josiah V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.