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The Ancient Calling contains one song by each of Funeral Storm and Synteleia, two Greek metal bands. I'd never heard Synteleia before, but really liked last year's Arcane Mysteries by Funeral Storm. For those who haven't been paying attention, Greeks are pretty damn good at black metal and this is true here. Both songs have that melodic, mysterious, almost folksy sound that is very common in the Greek scene. I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favourite here. The songs are different yet fit together like a pair of gloves, both having that '90s Greek black metal style that's still very much alive today. "Mistress of the Night" by Funeral Storm is the fastest, more rocking of the two and kind of catchy, with a beat that gets the foot tapping and the head bobbing and the vocal lines are even memorable. "Stellar Return" by Synteleia is a little darker and heavier and is mostly slow to mid paced with kind of a storytelling vibe to it. I wish these bands had recorded a split album rather than a 7" as this just makes you beg for more, but I guess it's a good incentive to look into each of their respective discography if you want more of the goodies.