The Sword and the Dagger

Five years since their debut release, 2015 sees the 2nd album of The Order of Apollyon eventually rear its gnarly head. After a huge upheaval in line-up (co-founder Dan Wilding is now with Carcass, former Akercocke man Peter Benjamin has gone, as has ex-Cradle of Filth guitarist James McKilroy), the band is now the brainchild of BST (Aosoth, ex-Aborted) and his new line up of seasoned musicians who feature in various French sources of extremity such as Temple of Baal and Livarkahil.

Personally, I was left cold by the band’s debut release, but the changes in line up seems to have lit a fire under the band for ‘The Sword and The Dagger’, and helped them produce a bucket load of extra venom to add to their powerfully satanic stance. Opening with ‘Own The Youth’ a symphonic intro of choirs and threatening intent, it certainly doesn’t prepare you for ‘Hatred Over Will’, which smashes your teeth down your throat without a second glance. Choppy, fast changing riffage, bellowed roars, disharmony and a torrent of bass and drumming all hitting home with raging force – I can hear the old school Morbid Angel striving to shine through, particularly with the melodic Rutan-eqsue soloing which appears toward the end of the track. The production is of a high quality, which allows each instrument to shine through – particularly the guitars which are pretty clinical throughout, but with enough bite not to be completely sterile.

The pounding riffage and melodic soloing are the main features of the band’s repertoire, with ‘Our Flowers are The Sword and The Dagger’ being my personal favourite of their tracks. It features the best of what they can do with their immeasurably hostile riffage, as well as a solid dose of their ability to shape-shift into something more calculating and cold at the drop of a hat. Eastern flavours follow in ‘Al’ankabout’, before sweeping into a crushing double bass drum fueled corridor of hate, whilst ‘Hold Not Thy Peace…’ bubbles with visceral intent and jangling discordancy.

‘The Curse Is Poured Upon Them’ features the most blackened vibe on the album, with a wraithlike riff that could’ve been taken from an early Darkthrone album, had it not have been backed with a blasting Nile-like attack towards the death. The remainder of the album is made up of a calming instrumental track (‘By Your Command, We Return To Dust), a slice of creeping intimidation (‘Eight Pillars’), slow pouring darkness (The Hand That Becomes Weak) and the epic album closer ‘Omnis Honor Et Gloria’ which once again pulls together all corners of the band’s sound and ties them nicely together.

All in all, I was much more impressed by ‘The Sword and The Dagger’ than I was by their debut album ‘The Flesh’. The band seems to have grown in stature, and with the influx of new blood behind the majority of the instruments, it just seems to gel a lot better this time around. Far less fractured, and more of a unit these days – The Order of Apollyon are growing into a beast – well worth investigating.

Originally written for www.avenoctum.com

The Order of Apollyon was formed in 2008 by B.S.T., one of the driving forces behind the French black metal act Aosoth and ex-member of Aborted and Garwall. The project was initially rounded out with Peter Benjamin (Akercocke, Voices) on bass and vocals, James McIlroy (Cradle of Filth) on guitars and Daniel Wilding (Carcass, Trigger the Bloodshed, Aborted) on drums. This lineup recorded and released The Order of Apollyon’s debut album, The Flesh, in 2010, through Listenable Records. The band’s debut received fairly mixed reviews, with most detractors stating that, despite the monumental line up, the music wasn’t very inspired, resulting in a rather dry listen.

Five years after the debut’s release, B.S.T. Returns with a completely revamped lineup consisting of members from Temple of Baal and Livarkahil. The Sword and the Dagger is the band’s sophomore album, and one that sees the band far more focused on black metal than the debut. The death metal tendencies are still there, especially with the deep, harrowing growls that serve as vocals and the near extremely fast and technical drum performance that rarely relents. While the majority of the album sees the drums blasting at frenetic speeds, there are ample opportunities for respite be it the ethnic Middle Eastern styling at the beginning of “Al’ankabout” or the chamber strings and militant snare lines during “By Your Command We Return to Dust”.

The percussion is certainly impressive, but the guitars steal the show on The Sword and the Dagger, hands down. Bringing a solid mix of high speed, rhythmic palm muting, blazing trem riffs and interspersed melodic lead guitar licks, the varied approach to the riffing remains interesting, even if the drums blast along to no abandon for the entirety of the album. While the album feels firmly rooted into the realms of black/death metal, the guitars shine through with occasional melodic licks and a dash of groove in the powerful chord progressions. “Hatred Over Will” fires away with a heady mix of sharp thrashing and jagged death metal riffing while “Our Flowers Are the Sword and the Dagger” presents fiery, chaotic trem patterns, rather technical galloping palm muting and a shredding solo.

Despite the varied approach to riffing, The Order of Apollyon manages to keep The Sword and the Dagger flowing naturally, rather than sounding like a jumbled mess. Blasting drums, versatile guitar riffs and deep, hellish screams combine to produce one of the heaviest and harrowing albums of the year. B.S.T. has certainly moved away from dry sounds of The Flesh and brought The Order of Apollyon onto a higher level. Fans of Behemoth, Hate and Bane should surely find some pleasure here.

Written for The Metal Observer.