Akercocke
Antichrist

Aristocratic, elitist, and satanic, here is one of those bands that, over the course of their career, never wavered or changed their musical genre hoping for a significantly greater triumph. Differentiating themselves from what is now the general trend and aligning solely with those who intend to follow the rugged, harsh, and solitary paths of blackened death metal, Akercocke has always impeccably fulfilled their duty—increasingly so if one had the opportunity and especially the time to follow their constant compositional growth: naturally, this has gradually emerged during the publication of these five full-lengths (the third full-length, Choronzon, is a work I would recommend endlessly).

Fascinated to the brink of their own sadistic exaggerations by themes such as Satanism, sex, and untamed masochistic passions, for lovers of Enlightenment-era authors like the French marquis de Sade or the 19th-century and Romantic-era Austrian Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, their lyrics would only be pleasing and fully enjoyable to a small circle of readers. On the other hand, if we belonged to this famous circle, we would undoubtedly recognize in parts of certain tracks the voice of the leader as that of a clear-headed intellectual, an ideal and refined connoisseur for best expressing their themes through music. We find ourselves in a period where certain themes now rise above the usual and nauseating prejudices perpetuated by more sophisticated or somewhat sensitive critics.

Those who have always followed this band would have desired a definitive leap in quality and here Akercocke promptly satisfies us with this admirable milestone, in which once again we have discovered an extraordinary qualitative brilliance and a new load of technical improvements. I don't want to exaggerate, but I believe that the overwhelming "Axiom" is one of the most important tracks of the entire genre, where their ability to push boundaries to the limits is magnificent, and in which their capacity to passionately weave themes together for their own pleasure is particularly notable: dream and impact, violence and feeling, love as sentiment, and practicality in sexual relationships.

"The Promise," a truly rare gem that I would forbid all listeners from considering as just another useless instrumental piece of any metal album, deserves attention equal to the other tracks, where we are catapulted into the nearest graveyard in our land to celebrate with the bloodthirsty and lustful creatures of the night and participate, in front of the altar of the sacred chapel, in the glorious proclamation of eternal damnation, the awakening of the daughters of the night, and a stormy and apocalyptic praise directed exclusively to the Dark Lord. The divinely satanic dance of "Summon the Antichrist" invokes the supreme creatures of the dark realm (Leviathan, Baphomet, Lilith...) where Satan has bestowed on them an inexhaustible beauty and gifts that on Earth would be incomparable. The powerful and technically elaborate "Man Without Faith or Trust" reveals the "true" mystery about the deeds of Judas Iscariot, and the dark "The Dark Inside," with a very convincing chorus ornamented with exclusively clean vocals, poses as main themes the contrast between blood and wine, between day and night, between light and darkness. 

I could talk for a long time about the more imposing themes of this masterpiece, but I will focus on listing the more disturbing ones: detailed distinction between human and inhuman, the nonexistence of God, the freshness of night opposed to the morning, the emergence of an Antichrist who denies that Jesus Christ is the Christ, and in the instrumental and extremely romantic "Epode," through the faithful strumming of an acoustic guitar accompanied by the leader's clean voice, absolute omnipotence and complete loyalty to the Dark Lord is discussed. All themes for which they have been fiercely contested also due to their numerous music videos (see for example "Leviathan" or "Axion" from this latest work) which have obviously been censored. The only real flaw is perhaps the growl that is not very refined, deep only on rare occasions and lacking expressiveness which partially damages this highly recommended work, especially by fans of the genre. In fact, the work done on the bass, electric guitars, and drums has proven capable of weaving enjoyable parts of pure progressive and harmonies with strong black metal influences into an album so extreme.

Obviously I would recommend the entire work to a listener who loves the genre and is especially looking for a unique and extremely perverse work in international markets: a product that easily stands out from the daily flood of records where impulsiveness and arrogance, class and irreverence do nothing but enhance it for what it truly represents. One of the extreme jewels of 2007, an additional gem in a career without declines. Sharp, romantic, and unique in its genre.