Review Summary: Akercocke's album, Choronzon, is a great mixture of brutal and melodic music that will impress listeners of the genre with it's unique sound.
Akercocke-Choronzon
Akercocke is a Blackened Death Metal band from London. They are unlike any band I have ever heard. The vocals, provided by Jason Mendonca, range from high, piercing shrieks to low guttural growls. The guitar playing contains memorable heavy riffs, solos, and melodic slow playing. The bass is surprisingly heard throughout most of the album, ranging from fast playing to slaps. The drums are some of the best you will ever hear within the genre. They range from fast blast beats to melodic jazz-like playing. Their lyrics contain satanic and sexual themes, which has stirred up some controversy in the past.
What is good about the album
Jason Mendonca's vocals are some of the best you will hear in Death Metal. His high shrieks are pure evil and full of pain, and his growls are very low and also evil-sounding. His clean vocals aren't amazing, but they convey much emotion and fit certain parts of the album perfectly.
Akercocke finds a way to combine sheer brutality with melodic sections. Examples of this are the songs
Leviathan,
Valley of the Crucified, and
Son of Morning. All three tracks start off slow with clean vocals, then burst into brutality. Songs like
Scapegoat are consistently heavy throughout the whole song with muddled-sounding riffs. Even though a large portion of the riffs within the album sound muddled, they fit the album quite well and are memorable.
The musicianship is impressive. The guitar work as I mentioned before, has memorable, great riffs. For the most part, the fast solos fit the song well and do not feel out of place. The bass can be heard throughout the album and makes each song even more interesting. Their bassist at the time, Peter Theobalds, plays the bass as fast as the riffs and throws in occasional jazzy bass slaps, which actually fits quite well. The drumming by David Gray is fantastic. The drums are fast, technical, and even jazz-like; and he manages to do this without trying to outshine the rest of the band.
What people may dislike about the album
Some of the riffs sound the same and sometimes sections of certain songs sound identical to others.
The album has some fillers that are enjoyable at first listen, but do not really contribute to the album as a whole.
Even though Jason is one of the best vocalists in metal, his shrieks and grunts are nearly impossible to understand. It is even difficult to follow the lyrics at times while reading along with them. Also, some people will simply not enjoy the heavy vocals. Akercocke is one of the heaviest bands you will ever hear and I do not recommend them if you don't listen to the genre or are just beginning to listen to the genre. They take awhile to adapt to.
Even though I personally enjoy the lyrics, people may dislike due to their content. The lyrics contain satanic and sexual elements that may not be suitable for some people. I do not recommend the album if you're highly against ideologies such as satanism.
Recommended Tracks
Praise the Name of Satan
Leviathan
Valley of the Crucified
Bathykolpian Avatar
Goddess Flesh
