Customer Reviews

Antichrist

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was anticipating this album for a long time although I was also worried that it might be a letdown. I had kept up with the bands teasers and youtube updates and some elements (including the title Antichrist) seemed sort of slipshod.

I'm happy to say that the album is ultimately not a disappointment, its dark, brutal, progressive, all the things I love about AK. That being said there are a few things I don't like:

The production on this album is crap. Its strange because it seems like their production got worse from their previous albums. When the first actual song, Summon the Antichrist, begins you hear a rapid drum fill that leads into a blast and distorted guitars. Its SUPPOSED to sound really explosive and crushing, except it doesn't because the drums sound like a cheap electric kit (they didn't even use a real bass drum according to the video logs) and the guitars sound like sludge with no punch whatsoever.

Furthermore, there are very noticeable messups on this album. The most noticeable is during Axiom with the clean acoustic guitars over a blast beat. Its a wonderful concept which is ruined by David Gray flamming all over the place with his kick drum. Couple this with Jason Mendonca's singing (this guy needs to train his voice, every album when he sings clean he is always straining and off pitch)and you have several periods of wincing while listening to the album.

Still all the problems dont change that this album is absolutely killer and a complete headtrip. The prog concepts and songwriting (minus the lyrics) are ingenious. Atmospheric doesn't even begin to describe the experience and it is quite a dark experience.

Best song: My Apterous Angel

I discovered this band with the release of "Words that go unspoken" and was changed, I now own their entire catalog sans one album... Comparing the experience to the first time I heard TOOL in high school and that band almost making all other rock bands obsolete. Same in the sense that I have grown into heavier things, but music for me has got to be something that you can bite and will bite you back and this band, if you let it, can and will make all other Death Metal bands seem obsolete. Now I love bands like cannibal corpse and Nevermore, but when bands get TOO technical I get lost and forget why the hell I'm listening to this music in the first place (bands like Dillinger escape plan and cryptopsy come to mind, but that's not to say they aren't extremely talented musicians and that I do enjoy a few of their songs, i'm just using them as a reference and also saying basically that I still appreciate the power of great song writing, arrangements and of course RIFFS, let alone the lost art of writing an album you can LISTEN TO ALL THE WAY THROUGH and as soon as it's done want to press play all over again!! But when bands get "Technical" in the sense of making the music progressive but still show you a song structure, then that's when you got me, like with say Mastodon... Now, when a band such as Akercocke comes along, with so much damn talent oozing from them and songs that leave you're jaw hanging open like you've had too much thorazine but yet you're still helplessly head-banging and air-guitaring like an idiot all over the place, let alone, as a musician find yourself inspired like you've never been to explore new territory with your instruments, well, bands like this are few and far between my friend. While wishing them great success, I'm also kind of glad they aren't everyones favorite band yet, just makes it all the more devilishly sweet. All hail AKERCOCKE!!!

This album is pretty good. It is original, most of the songs are different and each song has a lot of layers so it's not like you're listening to the same thing over and over again.

Album number five from England's Akercocke (pronounced: "ack-er-cock-ay") finds the band beginning to experiment with their sound, albeit only slightly. 2007's "Antichrist" does differ from previous recordings, including `06's "Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone," in that it is little bit more progressive and melodic. For the most part, though, Akercocke's sound remains the same as always. They primarily play a unique brand of blasphemous blackened death metal, although it comes tainted with a bit of grindcore, gore, thrash, crossover, math/noise, technical and melodic death, sludge/doom, and groove metal, power-violence, and crust punk. It is always a very original, engrossing, and brutal blend of styles/amalgam of most things heavy. The band also always is sure to include quite a few symphonic elements and Death/Necrophagist-inspired progressiveness. But it doesn't stop there -- they can even occasionally be heard adding a touch or two of industrial music and (borderline techno-esque) electronica for good measure. As you can see, Akercocke's sound is a huge an epic one that does not fit securely in one genre alone. (It always falls somewhere between Nile, Morbid Angel, Opeth, Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir, Brutal Truth, Terrorizer, Suffocation, Fear Factory, Sepultura, Celtic Frost, Unleashed, Meshuggah, Cannibal Corpse, Immortal, Cephalic Carnage, Dark Tranquility, The Berzerker, Marduk, Entombed, Deicide, Impaled Nazarene, Disrupt, Slayer, and Carcass.) And "Akercocke" is, of course, no exception.

Beginning on a creepy note, "Black Messiah" fades in with a needling, snaking guitar line accompanied by an ominous bit of grain-y-sounding feedback. This is then followed by a few beasty, Brujeria-esque spoken words, demonic backing vocals. Frontman Jason Mendonca does strangely well at accenting the dark bed of distinctly industrial music-copped flourishes (i.e. sampled horror movie-like clips, trippy, electronic blips, and cool, prominent keyboard runs) that surrounds him. It all makes for a superbly dark, foreboding, doomy, and unsettlingly ambient introductory soundscape a la Neurosis, Isis, and Skinny Puppy. The next completely experimental tune comes three tracks later: "The Promise" is esoteric, ethereal, and extremely doomy. It comes complete with Nile/Melechesh-worthy Indian/Middle Eastern instruments and skin-crawling spoken-word narration. Some hefty Dying Fetus chunk does crop up from time to time, but it is nothing to stand in the way of this being a terrific and totally-unexpected mood-enhancer. "Distant Fires Reflect In The Eyes Of Satan" is an especially blasphemous elegy to the band's Satanic roots. One could technically classify it as another interlude-type track, but calling it such seems misleading. This fleshed out, 2.5 minute-long piece of straight-up progressive metal is comprised only of one lengthy melodic drum solo. The textured tribal-flavored beats that the drummer opts for, here, sound reminiscent of Isis/Pelican/Soulfly/Intronaut/High On Fire. It is one cool drum solo, that's for sure -- even if it does become a little boring by dragging-on for a bit too long by song's end. The record wraps up with one more experimental installment: "Epode" plays like pure, bloated, unabashedly bloated power balladry. (It is two-and-a-half minutes of docile acoustic strumming and wailing (albeit if somewhat whimsical and unsettling) clean singing.) And by clearly taking a page out of the Sigh and Cradle Of Filth manual, the tune fuses in a rich, Symphony X-style full orchestra/choir, textured piano keys, and whiny, mournful backing violins, too.

On the other hand, though, there is plenty of material - i.e. grinding death-thrashers --- that that pushes the limits of extremity. A briefly pretty, Agalloch/Burst-like melodic string breakdown notwithstanding, "Summon The Antichrist" is a sprinting, blistering, death-thrash melee, and it is so fast that it often borders on grindcore territory. As furious and inexorable as it is bludgeoning, "S.T.A." explodes with sparks-flying buzzsaw riffage, whiplash tempos, crushing grooves, monstrous deathly bellows, Satanic overtones, and blistering, rapid-fire grindcore blasts. This ripper is so chaotic, frenetic, and blindingly fast that it sometimes threatens to careen completely off-the-rails. Later comes "Man Without Faith Or Trust," which is another guarantee that Akercocke can still brutalize with the best of `em. It is backed by fiery, aggressive chugging, wildly frenetic and racing guitar leads, and totally-blown-out and airtight grinding blast beats. Likewise, "Footsteps Resound In An Empty Chapel" ratchets up the speed and intensity levels to the red zone, making it yet another ultra-brutal and inexorable sprint from start to finish.

But with that said, it is imperative to note that this record's absolute finest songs (and biggest highlights) find the band splitting the difference (pretty much right down the middle) between the two of the polar-opposite styles described above. They smoothly stitch together a very wide and epic range of tempos, styles, textures, and sonic heaviness. But what is perhaps most impressive is that no matter how complex they may become, Akercocke somehow manage to tie it all together. By contrasting a gorgeous, Opeth-worshipping proggy intro with soon-to-be brutal and uncompromising death-grind, track three, "Axiom," is vintage Akercocke. Following quite a bit of pensive, soaring, near power metal-esque singing gently laid over pretty, lightly-plucked strings and a non-threatening rock `n' roll drum beat begins the song, the remainder of it is overcome by racing, bullying thrash grooves, nastily abrasive, gnawing power chords, and grinding, Mick Harris-inspired blasting. "My Apterous Angel" is the next curveball. It starts out by teasing the listener into a false sense of concerted restraint and doom metal-derived atmospheres. Fear not, though, because the usual deluge of heaviness is just around the corner. Mendonca lets one evilly deep, retching bellows and hellish shriek (that evokes true, old-fashioned Scandinavian black metal) after another. Plus, it simultaneously conjures-up plenty of math-y, complex, and noise-tinged riff work. And all the while, Gray can be always heard terrorizing the neighborhood with the tight, jackhammer-insistence of his relentlessly devastating drumming. Oh, and I should mention this -- that "Angel" is also highlighted by what should be considered as hands down the best bass work that this British bunch have ever written? The bassist briefly shifts to the forefront during a slow, mid-song breakdown; and his very interesting, technical, and memorable slapped bass lines really stand out during them. The last standout is "The Dark Inside." It features several sharp, dead=stop pauses, ominous, doom-filled breakdowns, smart, stop-on-a-dime rhythm changes, catchy, funky bass playing, and whiplash, Psyopus-style tempo switches. However, by the time its conclusion eventually rolls around -- by fading out with a surprisingly catchy, Rammstein/Marilyn Manson-like, new-wave-tinged vibe --it is clear that it has taken an almost 360 degree turn from the way it began.

At the end of the day, (2006's masterful "Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone" marked the exact date in time that Akercocke hit their plateau (both from a commercial/popularity and musical creativity standpoint). Hence, the heights that they achieve, here, on this 2007 release, cannot quite reach the same level of excellence attained yesteryear. Even so, in no way does that mean that "Antichrist" is not still a great, original, ingeniously-written, and impeccably-performed slab of genre-bending extreme metal. If nothing else, Akercocke are consistent.

First of all I am a new fan of Akercocke. Antichrist is the first cd of their's that I have purchased, and after just a couple of listens, I went and bought Akercocke's whole catalog of cd's. Akercocke is a wonderful blend of different types of metal. The main theme in the music is of course Satan, but this is a blend of Death, Progressive, and Black metal! I guess the best way to describe Akercocke is Opeth with Satan thrown into the mix except only much better. Favorite songs: Axiom, My Apterous Angel, and The Dark Inside.