I have said it once, and I will say it again.
"I bloody love Akercocke".
In a 'scene' where, just like thrash before it, there are 1000 bands an hour clogging the all welcoming arteries of every label going, and over shadowing the good music out there, Akercocke unleash yet another monumental album, and prove that, "if you've got it... you've bloody got it !!!"
Antichrist beams like a ray of (black) sunshine amongst the effluence that pours out of the gutter calling itself extreme metal.
Listening to Antichrist for the first time caused me to feel slightly drunk. Its great when a long awaited album is released and it exceeds all the expectations you had for it. (Deicide's 'Stench of Redemption' being the last album I bought to do this prior to 'Antichrist')
The band have reverted just a touch to more extreme death and black metal to meat out the album, unlike on 'Words...', where by there was far more experimental synth, classical and clean vocal moments.
Antichrist does have all of these, but not in such great abundance.
Opener 'Black Messiah' is a satanic amalgam of industrial carnage and what sound like backwards messages. Not much of a better way to grab your attention.
Title track 'Antichrist' just hammers out with satanic brutality the momment it starts. This is Akercocke doing what they do best. Gray's pinpoint blast beats, Mendonca's fabulously biled growling. Memorable riffs... basically, the works!!! There is a nice clean vocal part in this song, that like all the other clean momments, seems to have been thought about long and hard as to where it should be done, and maximises the effect of the leads, blasts and growls to perfection.
'Axiom' is worth a mention just because: a) it has a video. And: b) Its a classic already !!!!
Like 'Words....' before it AC has some slower and "cleaner" tracks.
'Distant Fires' is a kind of tribal thing, with accoustic guitar and chanting. And a rather hilarious "Hey...ooooooo", lyric. It also contains the now infamous Akercocke horn. Think "Nile", but with horns and a pointy tail.
"The Dark Inside" is the only full on song not to contain a blast beat. It's got this full on Slayer riff meating it out, along with the Lombardo style drumming. This track should be mentioned for its fantastic catchyness, and more so, the "breakbeat" and synth parts that just work so well. It also harkens back to "old school" early 90's death metal with instantly memorable riffs, a slow section remeniscent of Autopsy or Suffocation, whilst always retaining that Kreator/ Slayer thrash thing.
The two covers on this edition are good, but whilst 'Chapel of Gouls' has been given a real make over, 'Leprosy' is a near direct copy of the Death classic, just given the Mendonca works vocally.
I've said a lot, and for that I apologise. But I make no apologies for liking it too much.
Buy this album yesterday....