ARES KINGDOM
VENERATION

DESCRIPTION

In 2009 Ares Kingdom began working out a cover of "Die By Power" by Slaughter Lord. Showing his support for this endeavor, former Slaughter Lord drummer, Steve Hughes, sent Ares Kingdom the previously unpublished lyrics for the track. This process catalyzed a series of other cover tracks for what would later become "Veneration." The tracks selected for inclusion on "Veneration" reveal the ancestral blood that led to the development of Ares Kingdom’s style. Like a genetic code passed down, but still recognizable through generations, the influence of bands such as R.U. Dead, Mefisto, Sacrilege, and especially Slaughter Lord is prominently reflected in the bloodline of Ares Kingdom. Thus, covering these bands amounts to a sort of praising of the elders that brought the band into being. Even more fascinating is the inclusion of tracks originally recorded by Vulpecula and Nepenthe – bands that were the direct antecedents of Ares Kingdom. Historically cover songs have often been throwaway tracks for comps or split releases. The common result is generally little more than a failed attempt at mimicry. In the hands of veterans like Ares Kingdom, however, performing a cover song is not hollow reverence. Instead, it is a salute by one group of masters to their peers. Unlike other "tribute" albums, this compilation is successful as a whole because the songs are suitably chosen, and while Ares Kingdom demonstrate their fidelity to the original versions of these songs the recordings on “Veneration” nonetheless bear the band’s unmistakable imprint.