Antichrist

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.