Renaissance in Extremis

10 long and grueling years for Akercocke fans, starting with a long hiatus, Matt Wilcock leaving the band, then an official breakup. We did get Voices and The Antichrist Imperium out of it which is a decent consolation prize, but as fun as they both are to listen to, it ended up being like Diet Akercocke and Akercocke Zero. After years of desperation, googling, forum searching for any shred of info, it happened. The band announced a reunion and even gave us a brand new song, Inner Sanctum.

The album itself is thoroughly Akercocke, in the same way each of their previous have been. They always make a point to place each record in a different realm, and Renaissance in Extremis easily accomplishes that with a certain quirkiness that was always present in their music but it's out in spades now. The first couple minutes of the album's closer A Particularly Cold September will take you for a wild ride including saxophones playing before charging through their signature blend of death/black metal. The entire album is such a start and stop mixture of progressive, death, thrash, black, and plenty of melodic moments with glorious hooks that are surprisingly light and catchy. Speaking of black metal, it has taken a back seat on the last few albums but it is almost more prevalent than death metal on this release, the main riff of One Chapter Closing For Another To Begin being a beautiful example.

One thing long time fans will quickly recognize is the complete absence of Satanism, favoring more reflective and even positive themes, coupled with an almost My Dying Bride-like sorrow and glorious melodic structures. Renaissance in Extremis sits in a realm where it changes from sunshine to thunderstorms almost instantaneously, beauty and tragedy, tension and release. Jason Mendoca's vocals are the driving force behind this, employing all sorts of screams, shouts, growls, cleans and others that don't even have a proper adjective. On future releases I hope for a little bit more of their heavy and brutal/evil side, but the catharsis here is undeniable and therefore welcomed.

Nathanael Underwood, who is unknown to me, does a great job on bass and it is audible throughout the album, most notably during the intro for A Final Glance Back Before Departing. Akercocke super-fans may recognize Sam Loynes on keyboards due to the fact he was a touring member of the band before their 2012 breakup, as well as being the guitarist and vocalist for Akercocke cousins Voices and The Antichrist Imperium respectively. Paul Scanlan is of course a welcome return, but as always the real stars are Jason Mendonca and David Gray. The synergy those two have is what ultimately makes this band so special, their singular vision and immense talent. My favorite thing about Akercocke has always been how it doesn't really seem like it should work on paper being so off-kilter, and while the playing isn't the most technically amazing or fast, they damn sure know where to put each note at the perfect time to craft a work of art. This is a more than welcome addition to their legacy however, as it is yet another road the mighty Akercocke have now traveled. At any rate, my hopes are high for their future and possibly getting another album, or 2 if I'm feeling greedy.