Visigoth is one of only a handful of acts I can think of from Salt Lake City. I can’t entirely recall how I heard of them. I think my friend recommended I check them out. Maybe I stumbled on one of their full lengths by chance? Regardless of how I heard of them, I enjoyed their material. After their second album, I was wondering what they were going to do next. And then in 2019 came their “Bells of Awakening” EP. It’s a short, two-song EP released on Metal Blade records.

First off, look at that artwork! Previous Visigoth releases have used more vibrant color palettes. However, the EP goes a different route. It’s simple in its color palette, yet it stands out with so much detail. However, I might be getting a little ahead of myself. Regardless, it’s incredible! Hands down one of the better album covers I’ve seen. 

“Fireseeker” opens with a cool solo and transitions to a galloping verse. Jake Rogers’s vocals sound crystalline throughout. The guitar fills are neat, as is the second solo. “Fireseeker” is a more melodic track, more in the vein of EU-style power metal. That’s fine with me and I commend them for trying something different. But, admittedly, I don’t know if it necessarily works well with Visitogth’s style. It’s a good song on its own, though.

I think “Abysswalker” is easily the better of the two songs. The opening drum roll and riff give this song a bit more power compared to “Fireseeker”. Roger’s vocals have a bit more variety to them, with grittier moments alongside more melodic ones. The solo is much more riveting and the drums are a bit more pounding. “Abysswalker” has a better sense of epicness. I imagine that it’d be hard not to chant along to that chorus when the song is played live. 

Lyrically, I couldn’t figure out what these songs were about. Clearly, Visigoth is writing something to do with battle – maybe fantasy? I just wasn’t sure and landed on that as my best bet. But then I saw something. Someone, somewhere, mentioned “Artorias”. Confused, I looked it up, and that gave me a bit of a lead. Artorias is a character from Dark Souls. 

I’m not much of a gamer anymore. I remember kinda giving up on video games after Kingdom Hearts 3 was so disappointing. But, I came back to it with God of War (2018). So, I began looking for other games to play. I noticed Dark Souls 1: Remastered was on sale, and decided to get it. I thought, “Fuck it. Let’s see what everyone keeps raving about this for.” I knew the challenge that I was going into, but I still wanted to give it a go. And fuck did it change my perspective on this EP.

Going through Dark Souls 1 made me more appreciative of this EP. Knowing the story of that game and how Artorias plays a part in everything. The lyrics tell Artorias’s story in the abyss, which is expanded upon in the game’s DLC. In short, in the game, Artorias was one of four knights that served Lord Gwyn. Artorias is tasked with slaying Manus, the Father of the Abyss, who essentially is wreaking havoc everywhere. Artorias was one of the best knights, with a will of steel, so he was the clear choice.

So, he gained the ability to traverse the abyss. And along with his wolf companion, Sif, Artorias duels Manus. However, the Abyss begins to consume Artorias. So he sacrifices his shield to save Sif, allowing the wolf to escape. Artorias becomes consumed by the Abyss. In the DLC, the player fights Artorias, with what feels like a hint of Artorias’s humanity still present. Ultimately, the player beats Artorias, giving the knight the death he deserved. 

When I finally got to play through Dark Souls and the DLC, my level of appreciation for this EP deepened. I finally realized what the bells of awakening were. I realized that the two snake things on the cover were Frampt and Kaathe. And it finally hit me that the knight was none other than Artorias. And upon re-listening to it, I understood these lore-steeped songs much more clearly. Visigoth really did a damn good job with this EP. It may only be two songs, but it’s well worth the listen, for both fans and non-fans of Dark Souls.