Lex Talionis

Acheron was one of the early Floridian death metal bands that remained more obscure throughout its career. I believe I pointed out some reasons for this in my review for Rites of the Black Mass, but at the same time, I think Acheron is one of the greats of that ilk. Tons of bands came from Florida in the late '80/early '90s and some are absolutely classic, while others are forgettable. I don't think forgettable is the category Acheron falls in.

Having said that, I do understand some people's dislike for the band. One element is the intros (actually this is probably the biggest one). For the first few albums, every song had an intro composed by Peter H. Gilmore. Also there is the very Satanic lyrical focus (by which, I don't mean horror movie "blood of the virgin" stuff, but Laveyan Satanic perspectives). Either of these things could put off some listeners-- it really just depends on if either of these elements connects with you, or that you can at least look past these things if they don't. Personally, both resonate with me-- my personal favorite intro track is the one before "I.N.R.I. (False Prophet)", which is a rendition of "Joy to the World" in a minor key.

After that, it just comes down to the songs themselves.

Lex Talionis features Mike Browning on the drums, fresh from Nocturnus and the betrayal of his former bandmates. Mike has always seemed a really down-to-earth guy to me and I really dig so much music he helped create, so it is very hard for me to not like the guy. He has also always been very cordial in my email correspondence with him, as well. This is an element of this album (as well as Satanic Victory/Hail Victory) that appeals to me quite a bit, as Acheron's mastermind, Vincent Crowley, was also an original member of Nocturnus and this album even includes a song that appeared on the first Nocturnus demo, "The Entity". From what I have gotten from interviews with Mike, a good portion of this album was composed of old songs, possibly early Nocturnus stuff that never got recorded.

Unlike Rites of the Black Mass, Lex Talionis is not a concept album. Each song is a self-contained thing, while still managing to create some sense of cohesion with the other songs. The intro tracks add a little mood and most of them aren't very long. The proper Acheron songs are generally mid-paced or fairly fast, without being insanely fast, with a few being slow. The lead guitar work on this album is rather melodic and somewhat traditional in its approach. This was one of the few recordings featuring guitarist Vincent Breeding, who apparently later affiliated himself with William Pierce (author of The Turner Diaries under the pseudonym Andrew MacDonald) and turned out to be just a general jackass, but this is not something I will hold against the band, as he is his own person and I don't think he presented that sort of ideology during his tenure with the band. His contribution to this album is competent playing (and likely some good riffs), but he doesn't stand out as some amazing, knock-you-on-your-ass player, but then again, few players will.

The idea here seems to be setting a mood, not showing off technical skills. After all, technical skill is good, if it helps you do what you are trying to do, but if you are doing something just because you can, it isn't necessarily very interesting. Still, this album may not be fast enough overall for some people, namely the ones who just want something relentless to thrash around to, not that there is anything wrong with that, but they are not likely the audience for this album, or this band, for the most part. This is not an album of constant blast beats or non-stop double bass drumming. Nor is it an album of relentless sweep-picking and never-ending shredding.

It is, however, an album of memorable songs. That is what I really like about these early Acheron albums. The songs stick with me. If you are just looking for relentless pounding so you can ram yourself into a wall in tempo with it, you will be sorely disappointed. However, if you like your death metal moodier and sometimes a bit melodic, without being overly focused on technicality, then this may appeal to you. It may take a bit of time to warm up to the idea of the intro pieces, but I still think the album works with them. You just have to give the whole album a chance, rather than getting hung up on the idea of every second needing to be blast beats and whammy bar guitar solos.