Antichrist

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.