Heritage of Satan

Heritage of Satan
Studio album by Root
Released	25 October 2011
Recorded	May/June 2011
Genre	Black metal, heavy metal
Label	Agonia Records
Producer	Big Boss, Ashok
Root chronology
Daemon Viam Invenient (2007) Heritage of Satan (2011) Kärgeräs – Return from Oblivion (2016)

Heritage of Satan is the ninth studio album by Czech black/heavy metal band Root, released on 25 October 2011 through Agonia Records.^[1] It was their first album to be released by Agonia, as well as their last one with guitarist Marek "Ashok" Šmerda, who left the band three years later to join Cradle of Filth. The album counts with many guest musicians, such as Erik Danielsson from Watain (who also provided its cover art), Nergal from Behemoth, and Blasphemer from Mayhem, Aura Noir and Ava Inferi.^[2]

Critical reception

The album has received mixed to positive reviews upon its release. Scott Alisoglu, writing for Blabbermouth.net, gave it a 7 out of 10, saying that "[it] offers a range of variations on that classic Scandinavian theme, not least of which includes a good amount of black 'n roll, straight-up grooves, some gothic shading and creative oddities, making for an album that stands apart from the pack, if not always in a way that will pull the listener in for the long term".^[3] MetalReviews.com was more critical of the album, giving it a 73 out of 100 and calling it a "fun album at best, not a brilliant one. Big Boss is on decent form, his malevolent deep growl as hair-raising as ever, yet the songwriting is somewhat lacking, being adequate rather than full of the spinechilling anthems that we've come to expect from the band".^[4] Metal Blogs praised the album for its mixture of genres such as black metal, sludge metal and punk rock, but criticized the length of its intro track, ultimately giving it a 14 out of 20.^[5]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Big Boss. 

Personnel

• Big Boss (Jiří Valter) – vocals, drums (track 2), production
• Marek "Ashok" Šmerda – guitar, production
• Igor Hubík – bass, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Paul Dread (Pavel Kubát) – drums
• Daniel Řeřucha – vocals (track 10)
• Erik Danielsson – additional vocals (tracks 2 and 6), cover art
• Nergal (Adam Darski) – additional vocals (tracks 2 and 9)
• Blasphemer (Rune Eriksen) – guitar (track 6)

References