Antichrist

After four albums of increasingly progressive and free-wheeling death metal, Akercocke clearly felt that it was time to rein in the experimentation, and instead of continuing to expand their sound by incorporating additional outside influences into their increasingly diverse sound, the band apparently felt that the time was right to narrow the focus and deliver what is, at least by Akercocke’s standards, a fairly straightforward death metal album. Of course, straightforward death metal in the hands of Akercocke is still unfeasibly intricate and dynamic in comparison to the more atavistic elements of the genre, but it does mean, for the first time in their career, that the band take a step, if not exactly backwards, certainly sideways. In terms of the quality of the music itself, it is of course significantly better than functional – the band may be cruising in fourth gear, but they are running on an engine built by master craftsmen from the best available materials. For listeners such as myself, however, that had followed the band’s increasingly wild sound with enraptured interest, Antichrist cannot help but be tinged with a small amount of disappointment that Akercocke have not ventured further still into the unknown, instead preferring to revisit familiar vistas and well-trodden paths.

Setting aside the question of whether this is the Akercocke album I want it to be, and focussing instead on the Akercocke album it actually is reveals a core of molten death metal, contained within a succinct and streamlined package. The frivolities and fripperies of their third and fourth albums have been excised completely, and the psychedelic satanic warriors seem to have had the idealism and exoticism knocked out of them, responding with a taut set of muscular and largely memorable songs. The first track proper, following the de rigeur intro, is a perfect example of this. Exploding into life on the back of an extended tom fill that acts as a perfect tip of the hat to the master, Dave Lombardo, ‘Summon The Antichrist’ dissolves prime Floridian death metal into an already heady solvent of technical, but grooving Suffocation-style riffery, and the resulting compound is absolutely explosive. Vocalist Jason Mendonca pours his scornful vocals across the band’s hellish soundtrack, and once again Akercocke demonstrate their mastery of the form, successfully blending vicious aggression with unforgettable hooks, and viscous, chunky rhythmic motifs in a way that is simply beyond the reach of most bands. Where Choronzon or Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone might have used this foundation to build new worlds of progressive metal though, their tendrils reaching out to pull in sounds and tones from more esoteric sources, this track (and the majority of its counterparts across the rest of the album) is a fairly linear journey, the usual twists and turns confined to some fiddly Absu-inspired riffing working in contrast with an unusually rudimentary drum pattern, and a brief foray into the kind of haunting atmospherics that offer a slightly nostalgic throwback to the spectacular days that gave us their career-best The Goat Of Mendes. As undeniably exhilarating as this more sleek incarnation of Akercocke is, it is difficult to avoid posing the question of whether, in casting off the experimentation, something essential has been lost from the core of the band?

This is a question that I return to throughout Antichrist, a loose thread that I can’t help absentmindedly playing with, despite the attendant ever-present and irreversible risk that pulling it too hard could destroy the entire structure. The case for the defence rests on a clutch of tracks that, simply put, are unimpeachable Akercocke classics, and spectacular additions to a back catalogue that needs little burnishing. The first of these is the magnificent ‘Axiom’ which would be a fine candidate were one required to select a single track from the band’s discography which most effectively encompasses all dimensions of the band’s wide-ranging sound. Akercocke’s metallic credentials have never been in question, but were a particularly dim-witted listener to challenge them, the punchy, galloping thrash riff that surges into life in a flurry of legato runs and pinch harmonics part way through the track would be the perfect riposte. As ever though, part of the impact of such a thrilling riff is the contrast that it draws in comparison with that which precedes it. Rarely a band to simply put their pedal to the metal in a heads down race to the end, ‘Axiom’ pulls the listener in via the intriguingly incongruous combination of pretty, clean guitar arpeggios and constantly rumbling double-bass work, courtesy as ever of the extremely proficient David Gray. A soaring vocal melody continues this juxtaposition, working against a churning post-metal chord sequence in a way that is obviously Akercockian, but simultaneously somehow novel for the band, before the aforementioned grin-inducing thrash sees the band move from 0-60mph in a fashion marginally quicker, but significantly more satanic than a high performance sports car. If this were not enough, the latter part of the song sees the band giving free rein to their predilection for squelchy electro and dissonant guitars, and this is augmented by an elastic bassline from new member Peter Benjamin. ‘Axiom’ welds clever composition to immense groove and feel in a way that cannot but satisfy even the seasoned Akercocke obsessive. Moreover, the lyrics also stake out a clear philosophical position that compliments the musical vision of the band, elegantly quoting Bertrand Russell with the lines “I believe that when I die I shall rot / And nothing of my ego shall survive”. One might mistakenly read nihilism into a statement that in fact opens up endless possibilities and removes limitations, urging humanity to maximise the pursuit of pleasure during the only life that we have.

Similarly inspiring is ‘The Dark Inside’, which experiments with a much more rough and ready sound than the progressive precision that Akercocke have become known for. The heavily rhythmic, almost mechanised d-beat of the verse is redolent of classic Ministry, spliced with an aggressive punk-metal feel that approximates Chaos A.D. era Sepultura, minus the tribal elements. The unstoppable forward momentum of the propulsive riffing suggests that the guitars are locked on to a track from which there is no escape; every note, every beat is as inexorable as it is powerful. As if to underscore this more animalistic approach, Mendonca’s vocals are some of the most feral that he has ever committed to tape, approaching the intensity of Blasphemy, or even Revenge, not bands that Akercocke typically belong in the same sentence as. Generally speaking, when Blasphemy are desecrating cemeteries in preparation for their nefarious rituals, Akercocke are more likely to be found reclining in the drawing room with a full-bodied Bordeaux, discussing Rimbaud and Flaubert, and it is gratifying here to observe Akercocke briefly allowing prominence to the beast that inhabits all of us, a beast that has perhaps been a little repressed of late. As they tend to at their best, Akercocke then move effortlessly from the bestial to the beautiful, as shimmering indie guitars and honeyed clean vocals transport us immediately into more tranquil climes, before the band return to their roots, unleashing a pulverising syncopated death metal riff of the kind that is positioned in the exact midpoint of the admittedly minimal distance between Morbid Angel and Slayer. The stampede becomes a lumbering lurch, the sound of an awoken giant learning to walk, before destroying everything in its path as the berserker metal of the earlier part of the track returns for a triumphant conclusion.

‘My Apterous Angel’ is further evidence of Akercocke’s mind-boggling versatility, and distinguishes itself with the most jaw-dropping segment of the entire record, a staggeringly clever instrumental section, as a brutal single note caveman riff is dramatically spun into a dissonant and considerably more complex version of the same progression, to ridiculously exciting effect. Were the entire album this dazzling in scope and execution, Antichrist would perhaps take The Goat Of Mendes‘s crown as the band’s greatest achievement. However, although the tracks which complete the album are well-performed death metal, they are not very much more than that, contenting themselves with replicating their influences, as opposed to transcending them. ‘Man Without Faith Or Trust’ demonstrates Akercocke’s enduring ability to compose memorably sinister death metal riffs, but offers little more than catchy brutality, and although ‘Footsteps Resound In An Empty Chapel’ improves on this in a dizzying technical blitzkrieg of prog-thrash, it’s difficult to avoid the nagging feeling that the band are breaking no new ground here. Where once every track promised to journey to unexplored realms, this time round they are returning to familiar destinations, albeit displaying the benefits of the intimate knowledge of the regular visitor, although the wide-eyed wonder of the first-time traveller is now lost. Even the atmospheric interludes feel like a somewhat lazy retread of the evocative sounds of Choronzon, and consequently cannot reach the heights that they ascend to on that album. Even the selection of the tracks covered on the special edition of Antichrist are somewhat obvious – Morbid Angel’s ‘Chapel Of Ghouls’ and the title-track from Death’s Leprosy. There is of course nothing wrong with paying tribute to your forbears, and I suppose it’s possible that these covers introduced some fans to these untouchable giants of the genre, but apart from some spooky synths added to the former, Akercocke play it disappointingly straight, delivering admirable but uninspiring versions of unimprovable songs. How much more interesting it might have been to hear them cover something from outside the genre, identifying and honouring a kindred spirit in ideology, if not in sound.

It is important to clarify in conclusion, that Antichrist is not a poor album. It is in fact an excellent piece of work that even at its most generic conceives and executes extreme metal at a level well beyond the abilities of the majority of death metal acts. However, for the first time in their discography, the only real surprise to be found here is the fact that there is very little surprising about Antichrist, and for a band as ambitious as Akercocke, this feels like the first retrograde step in a career that has hitherto only moved in one direction. Perhaps they felt like they had taken the experimentation as far as they could under the Akercocke banner, and it’s easy to understand the attraction and challenge of creating such a tight and concise statement after several albums of increasingly intricate and progressive music. Seen in this light, Antichrist is indeed successful – an easily digestible blast of pure Akercocke, each track reduced only to its most integral parts. Were this the first of their albums that I heard, it is easy to envisage the delight with which this listener would have embraced such an overwhelming display of death metal dominance. However, in light of the greater triumphs that came before Antichrist, it cannot help but marginally pale in comparison, the band scaling Kilimanjaro, having summited Everest previously. A harsh judgement certainly, but then Akercocke have earned the dubious right to be judged to a higher standard than lesser bands. Expectations were met, but this time, they were not exceeded.

First published here:
https://alifetimeofmusic537956501.wordpress.com/2021/05/06/akercocke-antichrist/

Who wouldn't want to be Akercocke, at least for a day? Just imagine it: dressing and behaving like an 18th century eccentric gentleman, driving a BMW (Beelzebub Minion Wheels, of course), living in a big scary house bequeathed to you by your uncle Algernon, the occultist, and surrounded by luscious women, pentagrams and fine liquor. And spending your free time blasting for Satan. Looks appealing, doesn't it?

The last time I checked, Akercocke still had their regular jobs, but the Hellfire Club aspect of their lives is as strong as ever. Admittedly, on Choronzon and Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone, they had done everything they could possibly do music-wise. In that light, Antichrist is not a big surprise, it's just Akercocke doing what they do — and no one else comes even close. The one thing that was left to improve was the sound — on Choronzon (or the albums before it) it was a compromise, while on Words... it was sharp, for the sake of finally being able to hear all that was going on. All the instruments on Antichrist sound warm, natural and almost intimate in comparison.

It's hard to connect intimacy with "blasting for Satan" on paper, but in reality it works amazingly. On one side you have monstrous, bestial riffs played with frightening precision and unbelievable speed. A combination of death, thrash and black played so fluently and incorporating so many different aspects of playing into long, mind-bending riffs so wild that they seem to want to jump right out of the speakers and knock you off your chair. Just jaw-dropping. But with just a pinch of imagination you're right there, observing Akercocke (named after doctor Faust's monkey if you didn't know by now) in a luxurious, antique environment playing in an almost meditative, stubborn, concentrated state of mind as a sign of total discipline in devotion to their Master.

On the other side, there are unexpected and completely mellow parts where Jason Mendonca abandons his undecipherable growls and maniacal screams in favor of a clean singing voice and the acoustic pickup of his Parker guitar with custom inverted crosses on the fretboard (the Devil is in the details, right?). It really doesn't matter if it is slow or brutal because it is all believable. Even if Mendonca's baritone might shake, when singing lines like "Reveal yourself, come to me..." you know he means it.

And then there is blasting. Of every possible kind, including some new ones. Oblivious to trends or rules, David Gray (drummer and also the exquisite lyricist) plays blastbeats during acoustic arpeggios, or two bass drums during brief jazz interludes. Yes, they fit in. And during faster parts... the man is simply possessed. There seems to be no triggering on the snare drum or the toms, but even if there was, the way he switches tempos and hits his kit hither and thither sounds like carpet bombing. No place to hide. Through all that, his style is still clear and present.

The "funny-haired new guitarist with a bad winter wardrobe," (as referred to by Mendonca) Matty Wilcock (well at least his last name fits in), was responsible for some blistering solos, culminating in the solo among the brutally thrashing, gloriously headbanging yet meditative ending of "Distant Fires Reflect in the Eye of Satan," and the latest addition to the band back then, Pete Benjamin, affirmed himself by almost ripping the bowels out of his bass guitar on "Axiom."

So, was Antichrist a standard Akercocke album with just a different sound? Hardly. Although the songs seem to be more compact this time, it would take at least this much space or more to begin to describe everything that went into them. Anyone who has heard Akercocke before will know what to expect, and greedily add Antichrist to his or her collection. And the others... It's just a shame that all the Goths and similar creatures still think bands like Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir have anything to do with the Devil or dark erotica. All you need is to take yourself a bit more seriously. You don't have to drive a BMW. The word "gentleman" signifies a state of mind above all else.

This is Akercocke's final album to their moderately successful career. I've taken quite an interest into the band after hearing "Leviathan" off the "Choronzon" album. Akercocke are probably one of the biggest and best death/black metal acts to come out of the UK (let's be honest, we're not known for producing good black/death metal bands, but there are some good ones from the UK out there). What I like about Akercocke is their mix between the two sub-genres of black and death metal whilst adding an almost doom-like impression to their music. "Antichrist" is no exception.

I have all of Akercocke's albums barring the "Rape of the Bastard Nazarene" album, but I can quite clearly see throughout their albums how each one has progressed and the "Antichrist" album is the icing on the cake for the band because after listening to four tracks of this album I can tell this is Akercocke's best work, in my opinion. The band bring out this almost technical side of their musical talents which I can't help thinking has been kept away in the band's locker for some time now for whatever reason. At different parts of the first four tracks, Akercocke have shown their technical side with pitch-perfect guitar solos whilst in previous albums the musical content has been very much all about making Satanic and ear-blasting content, which has lead to very much average sounding black/death metal albums with few technical qualities, but it can't be said for "Antichrist". It is just that level up from previous albums. Furthermore, going on from what I have just said, I feel the band have more control over the tempo of their music whilst I feel in previous albums it was just doing what it wanted to do without carefully looking at how organised the musical content was (this can't be said for all the songs made on the last albums as there are a few good sounding songs in the last few albums). In "Antichrist", they've organised their tempo of their music to a much better standard and have given the listener more of a chance to catch up with the music and hear the musical qualities of each band member, the drums and guitars especially.

The production on this album is also very good (it has been on the past two albums), but because the band has progressively been much better at the organisation of their music, the production has allowed the music to sound so much clearer in the instruments and the high- pitched guitar solos sound perfect because of this. Furthermore, I feel Jason (the vocalist) sounds at his best in this album when he does the cleaner vocals which adds that bit more variety in Akercocke's music in this album. Furthermore, Akercocke do like to add other musical instruments or sounds. For example, the cello and the clarinet have been used in previous albums and the band try to add this almost electronic-type of sound in track 8, "The Dark Inside".

On the whole, I have to say this is Akercocke's best album by a long shot. It just has that extra musical quality that I personally have not heard in any of their previous albums. Whether that is because they have had more freedom to do what they want, being there last album, or they've just put a little bit more effort into it, I don't know. A great shame that this band split up when it did.

The music on 'Antichrist' is the typical approach to modern progressive *genre(s)* metal. In Akercocke's case this means they write some death/black metal songs then attempt to shoehorn in as much superfluous bullshit as physically possible. As an added bonus Akercocke write lyrics about Satanism and sex while occasionally referencing philosophy. The result sounds like the ramblings of a 15-year old sexually frustrated "satanist" written by a philosophy major as an attempt at impressing the hot goth chick in his creative writing class.

Looking at the foundation of the music on 'Antichrist' you will find that the riffs range from functional to non-existent. From the latter category, the second half of "My Apterous Angel" has a great line-up of riffs and is surprisingly good when you consider that the first half dawdles on the back of some mediocre acoustic guitarwork, listless riffs and questionable electronic nuances (trumpets, really?). "Man Without Faith or Trust" and "Footsteps Resound in an Empty Chapel" are the only decent tracks on the entire album, relying on rather simple song structures and refraining from going on tangents.

Unfortunately the rest of the album completely eschews consistency in favour of appearing "progressive". This rears its ugly head in two reprehensible but familiar forms: the wanky filler/ambient/instrumental tracks and the "Kitchen Sink" approach to songwriting.

The only redeeming feature of the first category is that at least you can just skip the song, but in judging the album as a whole they exist, much to its detriment. "Black Messiah" is a shitty introductory track; it avoids the typical acoustic or ambient approach and does a glitchy electronica thing that is entirely forgettable. "Distant Fires Reflect in the Eyes of Satan" starts off with some swelling keyboards before morphing into a poor man's version of Karl Sanders' solo project. These tracks are not awful, but the album is not improved by their presence and their removal would at least provide some cohesion. "Epode" is downright bad and fucking embarrassing to listen to. Metalheads love to call out Christian music for having lyrics that are shameless in their love for their faith but then they're quite happy to let this shit slide? The lyrics and music are hideously gushing and insipid: they're just as bad, if not worse.

The Kitchen Sink method is the most glaring flaw on the entire album and is prominent in "The Dark Inside". The opening black/death riff is good, a bit simple, but it gets the job done and at this point in the album it's something of a relief. At 1.23 this is immediately dropped for a section that is kind of post-punk; a basic staccato chord section strummed out in a repeating pattern which eventually segues into a fuzzy synth section that sounds like it was cribbed from the New Order. This is followed up with a jarring chug section, two speed metal riffs, a mid-paced riff, a slower section with some awkward single note riffs, a really bad solo and then finishes with the opening riff/post-punk mix. Now ignore that second half because it's a mess of leftover riffs that Akercocke just pasted together in a poor attempt at dynamics, because that genre shift in first half is fucking dumb and without it, the song would still be a mess but at least it'd be stylistically coherent.

Do you want to know what that section is really saying?

"This track is just too damn normal, we really need to throw in a random section or else they'll take away our PAM membership card and I'll be damned if I'm paying full price for my vanilla mochaccino soy latte!" and then they take out their d100 and consult a chart of random music genres.

Then you get their fans running around bleating "WOAH! Akercocke totally just played something that wasn't metal within the confines of a song that started out metal! They're blurring the lines between genres and BLOWING MY FUCKING MIND AAAAAAAAAAAA".

On reflection "The Dark Inside" is the only really terrible example of this affliction. This is not to say that Akercocke do not make questionable decisions regarding song structure and composition. For instance they ruin the perfectly capable acoustic opening to "Axiom" with some hideous double-bass pattern and bellowing clean vocals. There's also that silly post-thrash style of noisy chords somewhere around the middle and then they have an awkward clean break with the jazz style bass for the wailing, underwhelming solo and-

Enough. Akercocke are just terrible songwriters and to analyse their songs is becomes a tedious slog of asking "Why?" and shaking your head. The worst part about 'Antichrist' is that even if they dropped the pretentious progressive tag they would be left churning out unimpressive death/black metal. The riffs are well played and are not obnoxiously technical but they lack any visceral edge and evoke no emotion or atmosphere. They're vehicles upon which the band goes "Grrr satan and sex" for a bit, then they throw in a random section or some middle eastern scales and sound remarkably similar to The Tea Party, yet worse.

'Antichrist' is a mess of an album; a frail skeleton of black/death metal with a garish skin of sewn together from the desecrated remains of alternative genres, its grotesque facial features highlighted by Middle-Eastern scales/ambience makeup that was put on in the car after drinking half a bottle of vodka.

Since 1998 Akercocke have been one of the must unique and exiting extreme metal bands in the scene today. They combine elements of black and progressive metal into their own extreme styled death metal to create an original and truly memorable sound. After hearing the progressive masterpiece that was Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone I had high hopes for their 5th album Antichrist. I had bought the limited edition with covers of Morbid Angel and Death off the Earache Eurostore. When I inserted into my CD player that sound that emerged completely blew me away. The experimental progressive parts and the blasting riffs come together to make this one of my favourite albums in my CD collection.

The high level of musicianship in all Akercocke’s albums has always impressed me, but Antichrist took it to the next level. The brutal riffing of Jason Mendonca and Matt Wilcock is simple and not technically difficult, yet the sheer speed and the way it contributes to the overall atmosphere is incredible. David Gray never fails to impress with his fast technical drumming and blast beats. New bass player peter Benjamin also gave a good performance the bass is audible and skilfully played for the duration of the album.

Mendonca has an incredible vocal range. He can do death metal growls, black metal screeches, shouts and clean melodic vocals. This massive range is a manger contributor to Akercocke’s awesome sound. The lyrics, mainly written by David Gray deal with the standard Akercocke theme of Satanism. These lyrics however are nothing like ‘I Hate God’ or ‘Burn Jesus’ lyrics that bands like Deicide come up with, they are much more subtle which make them seem sinister and all the more effective.

Song Writing on this album is good, but not quite up to the standard of Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone. The songs may have slightly too much emphasis on the progressive and experimental side of their sound rather than the blasting that they are so good at. However when you absorb the masterpiece that is Summon the Antichrist you don’t really care about this. Another downside to the song writing is the transaction from blasting to melodic and vice versa is no where near up the standard it was on Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone. On their previous album the transaction was smooth and it flowed but if you listen to Axiom, or Summon the Antichrist they have not achieved this on this album. I am only saying this to find something bad about the album, seriously its only a tiny problem an no ones really going to care about it.

The production on this album is much sharper and better than the other albums. Their other albums had a slightly muddy sound but its much clearer on this album and the bass guitar is much more audible. All the different tracks are mixed perfectly in order to create an album that is full of atmosphere.

For me standout tracks include the two openers (not counting Black Messiah) for the diversity in sounds and styles that come through in them all. If you’re going to buy this album I would highly recommend getting the limited edition. The covers of Morbid Angel- Chapel of Ghouls and Death- Leprosy are really worth having.

Overall this is a great album, and if you like progressive music, Akercocke, or enjoyed Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone go out and buy it. Its different sound types from different genres of music make it a great listen and you will never get bored of it.

Akercocke reminds me of Horror Music, especially with all the creepy clean passages and the demonic extreme bits. The way the riffs are made are creepy sounding too, and wouldn't sound out of place in a horror movie. This could be a perfect soundtrack to any satanic/occult horror movie. A lot of the clean passages just keep building suspense until BAM! The extreme black/death metal hits you out of nowhere with such intensity, like a demon popping out of nowhere to kill you. It sounds funny the way I describe it, but it reminds me so much of Horror Music.

Antichrist has been described to many as a letdown compared to “Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone”. Many could say there are too many experimental twists, like the intro “Black Messiah” which reversed has quite the vulgar message. A lot of people think the intro is useless, but I think its perfect for setting the prelude to the slaughter almost, when “Summon the Antichrist” comes in, it hits you hard. Another example is “The Promise” which is one chord played over and over spoken words, which lead to a really atmospheric song, It feels like the interludes have an actual purpose, to build atmosphere and feel like actual songs. Basically, “Antichrist” is supposed to be more of an Atmospheric and maybe even experimental compared to “Words That Go Unspoken...”

The instrumentation is incredible here, Jason Mendonca's and Matt Wilcock's riffing here is simple a lot of the time, but perfect for such intensity. They also provide solos which actually don't ruin the song or the atmosphere here. David Gray is such an virtuous drummer, displaying fast yet technical drumming, providing excellent and tasteful fills, adding a few twists like blasting over an acoustic clean verse in “Axiom”. Jason Mendonca also does vocals, and he has an amazing vocal range. He can switch between brutal death growls, to black metal shrieks, to powerful shouting, to just singing melodically. The songwriting isn't just wankery or just trying to be unique, it all works here, and Akercocke knows when to switch to passages while still remaining unpredictable.

The production might also be a letdown compared to “Words That Go Unspoken...” It sounds a bit muddy here, but everything here is still clear (Except for the bass), and it doesn't detract from the sound as well. The lyrics here are definitely satanic, not in the Deicide “I hate God” edgy teenage angst way, but done in a british charm, a mature yet still sinister manner. This suits the whole image the band provokes, wearing formal suits makes the band look more sophisticated, even if it is a gimmick.

I consider “Antichrist” to be as good as, or even better than “Words That Go Unspoken...” “Antichrist” was a bit more experimental and progressive than the last, but it does not let down for sure. The music is still the same Akercocke since “Chronozon” though. Its amazing how the band matured from a generic black/death metal act to this now, one can only await what happens in their next album hopefully.

There we have it. Another band progressing into a modern and handsome sound. The sound practically all metalheads hate. Still, it’s Akercocke we’re talking about, so it will take some more time until the songs can be enjoyable to br00tal deathcore kids. Instead of that, thank god politely, this album can’t decide whether it wants to be scary progressive stuff or brutal death metal. About half of this album is made out of techniques rarely heard of to pleasure the listener, while the other half rages through without finding a crap about originality. Both of these half’s put out a decent job of it.

There is the scarier half. It consists of the first half of the CD with the exception of Summon the Antichrist, a rather american sounding song. Black Messiah and Distant Fires Reflect the Eyes of Satan are the usual Akercoke interludes, the latter having a very atmospheric and gloomy presence. Black Messiah on the other hand kind of sucks, it's by far not as atmospheric as Distant Fires Reflect the Eyes of Satan. Then there is this weird track called The Promise. Also more atmospheric than the usual song, but now with guitars and drums. It seems Akercocke didn’t know what to do with it, as the length is of a short Akercocke song. It is probably meant as a full track, but I can’t feel it other than an interlude track. Not that it matters anyway as it is clearly the worst track on here.

Now come the two songs that resemble Choronzon and Word/Deeds most, which are both also the best tracks on here. Axiom and My Apterous Angel. The first is a good combination of sick death metal’s pummelling rage and evil progressive black metal. Typically Akercocke. There are some spoken words in it, some great riffs and most noticeably: the verse which consists of acoustic guitars and blast beats. It sounds fucking fantastic, and even more with the awesome vocals of Jason. My Apterous Angel is something Akercocke hasn’t done earlier. It’s a song, but on the way Akercocke write their interludes. There is a lot of sound effects, as well as background noises. There are many riffs, not as heavy as others, but definitely more scary.

Now onto the other half, the standard death metal half. Speaking of standard, it’s still Akercocke, whatever they do still sounds different to what any band does. It’s just that there isn’t really a lot of progressive input, which isn’t very bad actually. Man without Faith or Trust is the only truly good song on here, but Summon the Antichrist, The Dark Inside and Footsteps Resound in an Empty Chapel aren’t bad either. The problem with these song are that there is a lack of memorable parts. Man without Faith or Trust isn’t memorable at all, but it shouldn’t be and doesn’t need to be as it’s just over 3 minutes long. The other songs on the other hand are around the 5 minutes, and aside of the awesome clean vocal part of The Dark Inside, there isn’t really much to memorize. It’s all not progressive enough to get that feeling that Akercocke can create. The feeling of: holy shit what just happened??? Was I listening to a band??? Am I dead??? Is this hell???

The works before this album sounded unnatural enough to make people think like that. Now with Antichrist they don’t do that anymore. That’s sad, especially after delivering two truly impressive masterpieces. Maybe they put all their songwriting thoughts into Words/Deeds (which really shows as Words/Deeds was practically perfect, if it wasn’t for the slightly degrading The Penance) and crashed. Or they decided that they want a bigger fanbase, which they truly deserve. Whatever happens, I know that this album made Akercocke a whole lot popular. And that, as a big fan, I can only applaud.

Edit:

I decided to higher the score, from an 76 to a 81. This is all thanks to The Dark Inside. I've grown very fond of the clean vocal part in the middle. And to say it has potention to be legendary is not that stupid. The heavier parts of the song are great too, but it's really the bridge that convinced me to higher the overall score.

Let me begin by saying that if I were to make a list of the best five metal bands I've discovered since the year 2000, Akercocke would definitely appear on it. It is becoming increasingly rare to find music unlike anything you've heard before, but this is exactly what happened to me with their previous release, ‘Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone’. The abrupt arrangements, versatile vocals and overall intensity were something I could barely handle, and the album did take a while for me to fully appreciate it.

And it's all there again. The guitars are every bit as technical and unpredictable, the vocal work as varied, the drumming as good, the lyrics as provocative. The thing I enjoy most in their music is, if anything, more prominent than before; I love it when insanely heavy riffing suddenly changes to an out-of-nowhere clean part, guitar solo – or another, totally different insanely heavy riff. I particularly like the funk-ish lead break in ‘Axiom’ and the alternative-esque clean verses in ‘The Dark Inside’ – they are so surprising at first that it’s almost ridiculous, but only almost. In some strange way Akercocke manage to make every part work. Nothing ever sounds out of place.

A few words are in order on the main two characters here, Mendonca and Gray. David Gray is still not the most innovative or accurate drummer in the world, but he certainly does his best. The occasions where he attempts to exceed his ability are, luckily, few and far between, and therefore easy to overlook. Easy to not notice at all, actually, since the drums are very low in the mix. As a lyricist mr. Gray continues to deliver quality verse, this time perhaps slightly more open to interpretation than before. Never a bad thing.

Why Jason Mendonca insists on undermining his skill as a guitarist is beyond me. His leads are, well, terrible, but the rhythm work is breathtakingly precise, as always. As a vocalist he could be better, though. While his clean voice is airy and emotional enough and the high screams get the job done as well, I really don’t like his low growl. Unlike many others, he focuses neither on rhythm nor pronunciation, making the voice blurred and muddy, and quite impossible to keep track of. How he ever manages to do that AND play his guitar at the same time live remains a mystery.

So far, I’ve praised the album. What is it, then, that makes it a disappointment in my book? For me, musical evolution is a value in itself. On ‘Antichrist’, Akercocke fail to evolve in any way beyond that of meaningless detail. Starting with ‘Choronzon’, they have now released essentially the same album three times in a row; leaving productional issues aside, one might suggest an even higher number. The offense is still forgivable given the top-notch quality of their music, but I sincerely hope they can renew their sound a bit in the future.

Back with another record, Akercocke are steam rolling their way to success with this hybrid of progressive black and death metal. By now, surely, Akercocke have mastered the techniques to successfully achieve their experimental goals and thus, achieve the perfect recording? Well, not quite. ‘Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone’ was a significant improvement upon the effort before it, ‘Choronzon’. The latter didn’t seem to want to achieve the kind of success that Akercocke could have if they were at the top of their game. It was a lackadaisical effort which highlighted a number of issues which concerned me and several others. ‘Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone’ however, proved that Akercocke were beginning to hit their stride. The transformation from black to hybrid was, at first, difficult, but as time has progressed, the band have evolved into a high octane, adrenaline pumping act. However, this era of Akercocke marks a series of change, once again, but this time it’s far more subtle than one would expect from such an experimentally diverse act.

This effort, ‘Antichrist’ isn’t a drastic change from the previous outing. Somehow, this fact makes this effort appear slightly more disappointing on the surface. However, if you scratch beneath, to reach the core of Akercocke, one will find that those elements that made the previous effort a hit are indeed still recognisable. To me, Akercocke are the British variation of Opeth. Over time, Opeth have evolved in to a band many can adore, although equally despise, and Akercocke have done the same. Of course, both bands create a drastically different sound which are on different sides of the metal spectrum, but the similarities are there. To me, Opeth began with amateur aspirations and weren’t able to achieve the sort of solid musicianship that the vast majority of people have lately come to expect from them. Of course, over time, the band evolved and hit their stride. Much the same can be said for Akercocke who, as time has ticked by, have evolved from a mediocre black metal band with awful vocals, to a significantly improved and highly influential black/death crossover. This is a rather confusing outing from Akercocke. It seems to be a record that draws on subtle feelings, as opposed to an all-out-attack on the senses like the last effort chose to do, this is done through acoustics, clean vocals and a darker production value.

‘Antichrist’ isn’t what I, personally, was expecting. In some ways, it’s a cross bread of two of the previous Akercocke records. It takes elements from ‘Choronzon’ and elements from ‘Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone’ and blends them together in an intriguing mix. The vocals have altered, again, which probably isn’t too surprising. The old style of spoken vocals, mixed with typical Akercocke assaults with harsh vocals are intertwined and make for a rather surprising showcase. Like ‘Choronzon’, the production is dense. It isn’t as light and airy as it was on ‘Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone‘, which disappoints me. Songs like ‘The Promise’, which like olden day songs indicated, serve no real purpose to the outcome of the record. Songs like this seem to be building a basis for the ‘proper’ and more fuller songs to lay back on, songs like ‘Axiom’ with it’s quintessential ‘Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone’ style and ‘My Apterous Angel’, which utilizes bass and the superb clean vocals well. The emotive value of the clean vocals cannot be judged. Jason’s voice has progressively gotten stronger as each record has been recorded. His voice is much more mature, his growls are more controlled and thankfully, much more sparse than originally. Although I do appreciate his talents when it comes to harsh vocals, which do indeed compliment the aggressive sections in percussion, which relies far too heavily on poor sounding double bass and sometimes shallow guitars, his clean vocals are better than anything else he does as proved on songs like 'The Dark Inside'.

To be honest, there are a number of niggling doubts in my mind as to whether Akercocke can build upon the success of ‘Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone’. This record would suggest that they’ve had their moment in the lime light and are ready to call it a day. In my eyes, the next record is a make-or-break effort, and will cement my opinion on this act. Of course, as stated, it isn’t all doom and gloom. There are some sublime moments on this record. Again, the clean vocals are amazing. Jason hasn’t lost any appeal, although other elements may have. The guitar work, on occasions, can be inspiringly beautiful. Songs like ‘Axiom’ and ‘My Apterous Angel’ are, in particular, stand out songs. The song structures are different to other Akercocke records due to the fact that Akercocke have more variation. Although the level of experimentation hasn’t exactly increased to incredible levels, having instead slowed down to the same pace that the previous effort set, the experimentation available on this record is accessible and pivotal to the positive aspects. The guitar work, once again, is special. The textures of the guitars are cleaner, leaving much of the distortion in the past. This allows for much more expression in the bass department, which is what occurs on this record. The bass has and is once again improved. The production is very limiting however, and doesn’t allow for the melodies of the songs, which would be superb if the production was lighter, to flow as easily. I do like this record and it does have some of the better Akercocke songs, but it’s far too mixed and takes influence from an Akercocke era that wasn’t that great to begin with, in my eyes.

This album is nothing short of spectacular in how it is set up. It breaks the boundaries of simple black/death metal and pummels your ears with soothing acoustics at times, and electronic based beats and ambient drone sections. The album is best described in a pros/cons method, as I usually like to do.

Cons - The production of most Akercocke albums completely meh-up the guitar tone. Live it is phenomenal but the production values kind of weaken the rhythm tone, the leads have great tone nevertheless.

Another is Jason's, as he puts it, Dog Vocals. I completely enjoy them, but he is even less understandable than Lord Worm (ex-Cryptopsy fame). Anyways, enough of that -

Pros - This album is excellence defined. To start, the guitar work is excellent. Shifting from aggressive chord progressions and chaotic tritone riffing to standard black metal tremolo fare and then calming down into a slow and meandering measure-long power chord break gives this album a fair advantage in being reasonably varied. Another bonus from the guitarwork is, of course, the acoustic sections (Including the intro to My Apterous Angel, though that is just lightly distorted guitar). The production may weaken the tone (as I've said), but the tone is still excellent in it's own muddy, C-tuned glory.

Now, onto the bass. Semi-audible if you're hearing through speakers and blaringly obvious through headphones. Basic follow the guitar work, but occaisionally (like in Promise) making some nice fills.

The drumming, as David Gray most kindly presents, is excitingly great. David truly is a master of the kit, shifting between crazily fast blastbeats (even in clean sections, like in "Axiom"'s verse) and simple stock patterns, throw in some fills, and then go all-out on a double bass pattern that wreaks real havoc. The bass drum is nicely tuned, not overly clicky, but not muddy. Right where the bass drum should be in the mix, as well, moderately loud, but not Cryptopsy loud (what is with all my Cryptopsy references?).

Vocals. Mmm. Jason Mendonca (like Mikael Akerfeldt, Opeth fame) is a very versatile and professional vocalist. His cleans, which are frequent on the album, are nice in their baritone-esque quality, and occaisionally he does a thrash like yell. His screams, when used, are as excellent as on TRotBN and The Goat of Mendes. Now, as I said on the cons, his growls are completely ununderstandable, but I think they fit the music completely in their ferocity. Since we're on vocals, the lyrics are the usual Akercocke fare: Sex, Satanism, and death. Very excellent topics for a business-suited metal band, eh?

Production values, are another positive. I'm all for black metal rawness, but Akercocke's newer style calls for good production. The production may weaken the rhythm guitar tone, but it completely enhances everything else. Whether it be the lead tone, the vocals, or the drumming, it completely enhances them. The acoustics and ambient sections shine through well.

Wait, ambient sections? Yes. As usual per Akercocke album, there are ambient parts, for example Promise and Distant Fires Reflect In The Eyes Of Satan. The first is nothing but an open power chord with strange noise effects and Jason recited lyrics. The latter is a Middle-Eastern styled arrangement, filled with exotic hand-drumming, acoustic play, and exotic feedback in the background. And, acoustic sections? Again, as per Akercocke album, they have various acoustic moments, and an acoustic song to end the album.

The songs themselves were written very well, though my only annoyance is that Summon the Antichrist sounds like it was forced to go on longer. Jason and David wrote excellent material for this album, with no letdowns in ferocity, melancholia, lyrical mastery, and vocal expertise.

Overall, the album is one of Akercocke's best (My favorite being The Rape of the Bastard Nazarene, however), and should be listed as one of their most progressive outings.

Favorite Songs:

Promise
My Apterous Angel
Distant Fires Reflect In The Eyes Of Satan
Footsteps Resound In An Empty Chapel
Epode

Akercocke, since 2000's debut album “Rape Of The Bastard Nazarene” have built up a solid reputation in extreme metal. Every successive release has seen the band stretch further creatively, right up to 2005's “Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone” album where I felt the band hit a creative peak. That was always going to be a tough album to follow so how does “Antichrist” measure up ? Not just to the last album but to Akercockes entire discography.

I’m not going to do this song by song. I’m just going to ramble a bit and hope that I can explain why “Antichrist” is the best album Akercocke has done and why it should feature on more than a few year end lists.

The one thing that hits you straight away is the production. Don’t believe the hype. It’s not bad at all. It's just a little lo-fi. Turn the fucking volume up and you’ll be fine. Now that that’s got out the way, the music. If you thought “Words… “ saw the band diversify into different sounds, then you haven’t heard anything yet. When the band is raging they sound like Behemoth, only it's not as over produced as Behemoth and there are more black metal bits than death metal. The guitar duo of Jason Mendonca and Matt Wilcock fucking kill on this album. Whether it's tearing their way through heavy chugging riffs, laying down chaotic lead guitar over some fierce death metal riffing or just playing some clean guitar. Jason Mendonca has become a stunning vocalist. Growling, shrieking, singing clean or doing his spoken word thing. his performance on “Antichrist” is the best I’ve heard in a while. Drummer David Gray comes into his own on “Antichrist.” A pummeling yet incredibly tasteful job behind the drum kit. The band's Avante Garde leanings are even more pronounced on the new album and Akercocke are absolutely fearless on “Antichrist.” Case in point being the superb almost Thought Industry(circa Short Wave on a Cold Day era) like pop guitar melody that pops up in the middle of a heavy as fuck Akercocke song.

Akercocke for me is truly the one band that is the natural heir to the legacy of Celtic Frost. I don’t make such a comparison lightly but the ambition of this band and their ever increasing affinity for the Avante Garde and most importantly, their ability to meld the Avante Garde so seamlessly with the raw extremity of their music brings a comparison to my mind with the Swiss legends.

There comes a time in the lives of most bands when every member is at the top of his game. When the collective can do no wrong. “Antichrist” is the work of such a band. Supremely confident in their abilities and absolutely fearless in their execution.

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My initial reaction to hearing Akercocke's 2007 release, Antichrist? "Wow!" I could not fathom how they had pulled this incredible work together. This is an album that pulls the best elements from a wide range of influences together into a progressive metal monster. The blistering riffs of Zos Kia Cultus-era Behemoth, the atmosphere and variety found in Opeth. One particular section of "The Dark Inside" even seems to channel Nine Inch Nails... Somehow Akercocke brings these influences together, improves upon them and makes it seem as though it all makes perfect sense.

Technically, there are a lot of great things going on in this album. The vocals sound wonderful; no matter if they are low gutteral growls, black metal shrieks, melodic clean sections or if Jason Mendonça is employing his imposing speaking voice in the various narrated segments. The drumming is extremely clean, and while there are blastbeats all over, they are always used tastefully and never sound out of place. The guitar work is superb and the tone is exceptional, reminding me quite a bit of Behemoth’s during their blackened death metal days. Best of all, you can actually HEAR the bass... this is definitely a good thing as Pete Benjamin is a very skilled bassist and plays some great lines during some of the clean sections throughout the album. While most of the tracks are very guitar-driven, the production is balanced and clean; no one instrument overwhelms the sound and the production is slick without feeling over polished.

The album starts off with a static laden track entitled "Black Messiah" which creates an apprehensive feeling in the listener and provides an appropriate atmosphere for the album. Once the opening track ends, David Gray starts "Summon the Antichrist" off with a bang and you are immediately catapulted into some intense death metal riffage. Although this track (and many after it) goes through extreme transitions from intense riffs to clean interludes and back again, it never comes across as forced or unnatural. "My Apterous Angel" and "The Dark Inside" are standout tracks on this exceptional album, displaying both their musicianship and their ability to defy the "rules" of song structure.

Adding even more variety to this album, we have tracks like "The Promise" which is composed of Mendonça's narration and what sounds like tribal chanting over layers upon layers of sounds (groans, screams, horns, keyboards, you name it). "Distant Fires Reflect in the Eyes of Satan" makes you feel as though you were in the midst of a pagan ceremony. Songs like these help to maintain the atmosphere of an impending apocalypse that seems to permeate the album.

I believe that this is an album that has to be heard in order to properly appreciate what Akercocke has done. I also believe that this is a “must-hear” for any fan of heavier progressive metal (Opeth, Dark Suns, etc.). This is a very strong contender for "Album of the Year: 2007" in my opinion.

What can I say about Antichrist from Akercocke...well...to simply put it, It's a somewhat big improvement from Words that Go Unspoken (if thats really possible). What will you find in this insane black/death progressive metal? Some of the best metal written in years. I find it extremely hard to believe that Akercocke didn't make this music without the consent of Satan himself because well, that clean vocals from Mendonca sound like a chant to the horns himself. The drumming is inhuman, it's extremely well put together and very clean. It consists of blast beats (a lot infact) and some very well put together jazz fusion parts. The bass is very audible in this album, which is a strange occurence in brutal death metal/black metal/progressive metal. It's very well heard and fits perfectly with the music. Now to the guitars...I can't explain how perfected they are in this album. From the extremely fast tremolo picking to the sweep solos to the clean progressive/jazz parts, it's all perfectly implemented. Now to the madman himself, the vocals. The vocals are some of the best done vocals ever in metal.

Of course, Mendonca is known for his nice transition from black metal shrieks, to extremely low gutterals, to his clean vocals. Mendonca once again perfects his vocals in a way that you didn't think was possible. There aren't much bands like this in the metal world, at all which makes Akercocke even more enjoyable. I extremely recommend this album to the openminded metalheads out there looking for a unique sound, apart from the dullness that is modern brutal death metal and deathcore.

Boy, hasn’t this one stirred up some jazz? Considering the press Akercocke received – in both positive, but mainly negative manners – just for naming their fifth LP “Antichrist,” you could tell these oddballs were going to surprise a lot of people with this record; and they sure as hell did. Akercocke’s oven of progressive frosting layered over the cake of brutal death metal has always been a delicious mix for fans of the genre, and the boys still continue to dish out genius metal in every range of measurement. Even under fire, the well-dressed gentlemen of Akercocke remain the fantastic experimental progressive band they were meant to be, and “Antichrist” is unquestionably one of their finest works.

As musicians, Akercocke are spot on with relentless brutality and golden experimentation. The death metal “Antichrist” brings forth is filled with speedy blastbeats, low growls, and nifty solos; but that’s just the first of it. Akercocke’s overlapping of various genres reveals a special brand of multi-genetic death metal that sounds very professional and original, but they connect the links of oddness flawlessly when performing a musical switch. Not one problem ever emerges when the vortex between brutality and experimentation opens; it's just an outstanding transition.

Still, the everlasting evolution of Akercocke’s experimental ideology brings the band to a new paradise of tropical progression, which installs many interesting items to the table. Flares of uniqueness sprout throughout the narration-driven “The Promise,” whilst other keyboard-laden tracks and tribal jams lurk amongst these oddities. Also, the euphoric “Epode” shines on a simple acoustic template with a chilling atmosphere words cannot describe; add haunting lyrics, and you have the record’s highlight. Alas, the boys of Akercocke swim toward the tides of creativity with some of their most unique material ever.

It’s simply outstanding to witness the chaos of “Antichrist” and how Akercocke’s advancement continues to entwine the fibers of experimental music and death metal. Such a bizarre blend of racket is not meant to go together, but they make it work in hundreds of different ways; there’s just too much goodness of all sorts. Light your candles, shut off the lights, and prepare to summon the master with experimental perfection…this is “Antichrist.”

What a dreadfully boring band I thought as the first half-minute of ‘Summon the Antichrist’ had gone by. The repertoire of these brits seemed to be limited to hitting the drums real fast like some rabid monkey while repeating some monotonous death metal riff ceaselessly. And let’s not mention the vocalist who sounds like a throat-cancer patient croaking out his last few breaths. As these thoughts occupied my mind, making me angrier and angrier, another one (not so surprisingly) spread like panic inside my head: What the hell is an Akercocke, and how do I make it shut up? I was this close from never listening to Akercocke again.

Note my surprise when a swiftly played acoustic guitar made its presence known and the vocals switched from blackish rasps to clean in an instant. How… clever and progressive of them. The green, warm and approving light of “big brain music” went on inside my head. The atmosphere continued to thicken whilst my anger subsided, giving room for childish elation. For lack of a more eloquent description: this is pure magic!!! Akercocke wield this magic like an evil mage gone mad on every chance they get, and quite successfully too. ‘Axiom’ for example, is an exercise in how fast you can move from clean melody, death metal riffs, blast beats, black metal vocals, and back again! This willingness to switch styles in a heartbeat is essentially what makes Akercocke such a special band. I hope the band isn’t scared of heights, for they have climbed one big mountain with this release.

‘The Promise’ is the next surprise, starting with a creepy mesh of discordant guitars and some mood-setting narration. The song never gets going, but it doesn’t have to for it has already made its point. It works more like a preface for the mystical ‘My Apterous Angel’ - a song I would like to gift-wrap and send to Opeth with the text “Here’s how you do it, retards!” Akercocke remain confidently adventurous for the rest of the album and the second half is about as strong as the first. This is clearly some sort of black magic though because the lyrics seem to be about Satan or some other evil entity. Well, I couldn’t care less. I listen to metal because I’m a ferret (as we all know, ferrets are the most fanatic metal fans out there), and we certainly don’t worship Satan (we had a convention and deemed he was too much of a wuss). No, these brilliant compositions are all the sustenance this little critter could ask for for a long time to come.

Words... was one of the biggest surprises for me in 2005. I was completely blown away by the experimental attack of vicious death metal with the blackened atmosphere. Almost perfect and hard to top that album was.

Sadly this one is not on par with it. The soft and muddy guitar sound fails to give the chills Words.. did, and the drums are way back in the mix. Now that is a bummer because David Gray, one of the best metal drummers around, has reached his peak on this one. He reaches insane speeds almost instantly, comes back with a mind fucking technical break, then goes on to try some new records. Mendonca's clean vocals are ethereal as always but let's face it, he has never been a powerful growler, or a good screamer. He gets the job done though. The acoustic breaks are great except one thing, blastbeats behind clean guitar tones just shouldn't be done. Period. There is a bit of an electronic experimenting here but doesn't add much to the album, doesn't hurt either.

This one could easily have been a contender for the album of the year, but the production hurts it a lot. Whether the muddy guitar tone was a conscious decision on their part or just some unwanted production fuck-up doesn't concern me. It's simply bad. Still a solid effort from these masterful Brits.

Just bought the new Akercocke album. Antichrist.

Fkwhoa. Hipbshephanemon. Gjibberatinumenclat.

I'm almost speechless. This album is fantastic. I was expecting crushing brutality of an unprecedented level. I try not to give exceptionally high reviews, and I certainly didn't think I would here. I shored up my defenses, girded myself with armour, built my walls, drew my magic circle, and sought to commune with the powers of darkness: Mendonca and Gray.

The assault was unexpected. The first track, Black Messiah, was a baffling coded message from the abyss. The short burst of white noise built up a feeling of apprehension for the no doubt imminent viciousness of the rest of the album. The band caught me off guard brilliantly.

The first proper song had opens with marvelous drumwork and decent, meaty riffage that a veteran magus can stand. Very interesting, clearly very powerful. Just as I thought I understood my foe, however, it shifted. The assault slackened and dread took over.

This is a very, very experimental album. Unlike Mayhem's 'Grand Declaration', experimental does not here mean terrible. The demon threw sand across my innermost sanctum with its trickery, and breached my defenses. The dischord, the rhythms, the vocals, all are hypnotic. The music works its way into the mind and slowly causes it to decay. The more you listen, the more confused and awed you feel, and the more you have to listen. The only escape is madness, or the Death cover if you have the limited edition and don't have your machine on repeat.

Antichrist definitely emphasized the progressive part of 'progressive black/death'. There are the usual ethnic instrumental bits (similar to 'Prince of the North', only more evil). There is the expected hypnotic groovy basswork. Mendonca's vocals are more varied; he does spoken word, tenor, grunts, moans, shrieks. All perfect. They even include some modern synth, or something that sounds it. I swear I heard something techno in 'The Dark Inside'.

Point is, this album is like the band's favorite demon, Choronzon: confusing, unexpected, treacherous. It leads to obsession in weak minds, like my own. But it also contains solid metal backing. These elements broke me and defeated me, and as a result I give it 9/10. This is what music should sound like.

I didn’t think it was possible but Akercocke have actually ALMOST trumped Words that Go Unspoken, Deeds that Go Undone. Notice I said almost because the latter is one of the best albums I've heard in the last five years. Not to say that Antichrist isn’t fantastic, it's just hard to perfect perfection. Easily one of my most anticipated albums for this year, this little gem will satisfy prog and death metal fans alike.

The album opens with "Black Messiah" an odd but overall useless track and is followed by the blistering "Summon the Antichrist". This song is death metal done right. The vocals forceful, the riffs are searing, and David Gray (metal's greatest living drummer, mind you) easily reaches 300 bpm without a hint of slowing down.

The next song "Axiom" is a little more mellow (just a little) with acoustic guitars but it keeps the drums "extreme" without making it sound out of place. Mr. Mendonca shows off his vocal abilities with soothing (and sometimes absolutely haunting) clean vocals accompanied by death vocals so deep they probably could probably reach hell itself.

These two songs are probably sum up what you can expect from the rest of the album. And this is absolutely fine. But noticeable experimentation runs rampant through the album as well. The best examples are "Distant Fires Reflect the Eyes of Satan" which is almost tribal, and the middle part of "The Dark Inside" which I swear is an out take from an unreleased Rush album. The last song "Epode" is also a little something different and is almost like "Lex Talionis" from the last album. Overall it’s a nice closing track, even if Mendonca's vocals are a little over dramatic.

All in all this album is almost perfect. All the instruments come together nicely. The riffs are fantastic, the drumming is amazing, and even though the sorely missed Mr. Theobalds is absent, Mr. Benjamin gives good contributions (including lyrics). If you like death metal, get this album. If you don't, get this album. You'll love it. Trust me.

As a final note I was lucky enough to obtain the super deluxe version with the cover songs "Chapel of Ghouls" and "Leprosy" from Morbid Angel and Death, respectively. As if you didn't have reason enough to get this, these two songs only sweeten the deal and come highly recommended.

Akercocke have, in my opinion, outdone themselves. While "Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone" was good, "Antichrist" simply blows it away on practically every level. The experimentation level has been raised significantly, but it's still an amazing blend of Black and Death metal.

When I heard the opener, "Black Messiah," I hoped that it would not foretell my listening experience (as this track is utter shit). And, thankfully, it didn't.

"Summon The Antichrist" is extremely good and gives a heads-up to what Akercocke can do: the growls are deeper (the vocals overall are better), the riffs are better, and the drumming pounds your head like it should. There's also a good solo in the song.
"Axiom" opens up in a strange way: acoustic guitar and clean vocals, but with typical Death Metal drumming... somehow the structure works. "Axiom" is still aggressive, and gets heavier as it goes on. Until about 2:40, which contains a few seconds of a sound you have to listen to to believe.
"The Promise" is a low point, despite its interesting composition.

"My Apterous Angel" builds slowly, gaining momentum, but slacks off again until it's within the fourth minute, and then it drills you with its progressive heaviness.
"Distant Fires Reflect the Eyes of Satan" and "Man Without Faith Or Trust" are pretty cool, but hardly the best songs here.

"The Dark Inside" is one of the best songs here, it just blew me away with what Akercocke can do. Even though it's over six and a half minutes, it seems short.
The final metal song, "Footsteps Resound In An Empty Chapel" is good. Quite powerful.
"Epode" reminds me a bit of "Lex Talionis" from their previous album, as it's a slow sort of closer with only clean vocals. However, "Lex Talionis" had some extraneous elements that detracted slightly from the listening experience. "Epode" is unexpected, but good and worth a listen.

"Antichrist" has a majestic sort of power that flows at you with all the power of Evil behind it. Akercocke have reached the point where they know how to mix slow & fast parts, and while their progressive edge isn't quite on the same level of Opeth, it's high. Within the top five prog-metal bands at any rate.


Favorite tracks: "Summon The Antichrist" and "The Dark Inside"

Least favorites: "Black Messiah," "The Promise," and "Distant Fires Reflect the Eyes of Satan"

One of the most anticipated albums of the year (for myself anyway), Akercocke returns to follow up 2005's grand release "Words that Go Unspoken, Deeds that Go Undone". A lot of expectations have been set for this album, especially since the band has been improving on its sound since their debut in the late 90s. Each album manages to progress from the last, with their brand of black/death metal taking influence from a myriad of styles. Does "Antichrist" live up to its hype?

The simple answer is yes. What we have here is a magnificent progressive album that avoids falling into traps that most progressive bands end up falling into. That trap is, while it contains a lot of different influences and stylings throughout, Akercocke manages to keep the song writing sounding natural, and avoids forcing pieces together. A lot of progressive bands, especially in this spectrum of extreme metal, try to throw in some random genre in their music, and fail miserably. Akercocke, on the other hand, allows their songs to flow into these parts. While these parts sound surprising and unique, they do not sound abrupt or out of place.

The album's first actual song opens up with a deadly riff, and makes a definite statement. "Summon the Antichrist" will certainly summon up any demon with its demonic vocals and satanic lyrics. The song flows nicely, giving the listener deadly riffs countered with chord progressions. A definite winner. The next track opens up with some acoustics overtop of blastbeats. While this sounds awkward, it proves to be effective, and the momentum of the blasts lead into the following riffs with precision.

The album continues to flow and run around all over the place whilst doing so. "The Promise" features some interesting vocal work by Jason Mendonca. This man can certainly sing a wide range of vocals. The aforementioned track features some majestic sounding singing, while in other tracks he sings with various tones, and switches to evil screams and guttural work. In fact, the use of the vocal work combined with the progressive nature of Akercocke's music makes it seem much like a well written musical. Satanists are said to have an eye for aesthetics, and Akercocke certainly live up to this assessment.

Another track that really stands out to me is "The Dark Inside". It opens up with some more deadly riffing, but then changes to some clean guitars accompanies by Jason's excellent singing, and switches into an electronica sounding part. Again, Akercocke manages to make an idea that could potentially be awkward/a failure into a massively effective arrangement. This is probably the most extreme example of this on the album, as I felt it should be mentioned in this review.

These guys have certainly released a stellar album that once again pushes beyond their back catalogue through the use of dynamic song structure and exquisite musicianship. Everything from David Gray's drumming, to Matt Wilcock's lead work, to the satanic lyrics are steps beyond their peers' efforts. Bands like Opeth simply cower in fear to such well written and executed albums, and could learn a lesson from Akercocke (especially after their last abomination). So far this has to be one of my top albums released in 2007. One can only ponder what these guys will do next.