Metal Underground.com

After languishing in obscurity for much of the band’s 20+ year history, Root is finally seeing more international recognition, in no small part due to a slate of recent re-releases of early albums. Now that Root is actually becoming a part of the darker metal scene at large, it’s time for the Czech Satanists to evolve their sound and show why they should be taken seriously amid a sea of talented bands. Although it maintains a unique style and is heavy on atmosphere, unfortunately “Heritage of Satan” doesn’t quite manage to be the knockout Root needs to win over new audiences.

The album starts with its worst foot forward, on an overblown and overlong intro that gets outright silly by the end of it’s nearly six minute length. The cheesy talking and single piano notes almost become comical as they drag on five minutes longer than necessary. From there on, thankfully the songs leave that mess behind and get into what Root is really all about; mid-paced, atmospheric heaviness that mixes in ideas from across the metal spectrum: black, gothic, traditional and more. As always, front man Big Boss mixes up the vocal styles with clear growls, ritualistic chanting, yelling, and even singing on the more clean side.

The sound quality is noticeably improved over earlier releases, and the album overall has a lush and rich production. Each song generally moves at the same simplistic pace as on the earlier releases and usually shies away from technical guitar work or furious drum beats, as the music tends to be more about atmosphere and mood than head banging. Some tracks break out of that restriction, such as “Darksome Prophet,” which is more of a proper foray into black metal mayhem than is usually heard from Root. “Greetings From the Abyss” is also significantly more energetic and thrashtastic than other songs on the disc.

Root has always done its own thing and not really cared what anybody thought about it, which led to some very interesting and eclectic albums (“The Book,” “The Temple in the Underworld”) as well as a fair share of unpolished and unfocused releases (“Zjeveni,” “Hell Symphony”). “Heritage of Satan” lands somewhere in the middle, clearly eclipsing the bad albums but not exactly reaching the heights of the good ones. Old Root fans will find plenty of sounds to maintain interest, while potential new audiences may want to give it a trial run before deciding to head into the band’s back catalog.