Akercocke is a progressive blackened death metal band formed in 1997 in London, England. The band has returned after ten years from their last release Antichrist. The group returned August 25th to unleash Renaissance In Extremis through Peaceville Records. Now this is the same lineup that split up after the release of Antichrist but the lyrical content has changed with this album compared to their previous endeavors. Right off the bat, this album is already a progression to an evolved sound which could be expected after a ten year break but it has progressed and evolved in a good way.
One of the noticeable factors is that the band has dropped a lot of their signature blackened death metal sound that goes straight through their albums with some progressive rock influence. The first half of the album does feature the blackened death sound but the latter is more progressive rock influenced. The beautiful aspect is the mixture of vocals tones such as the death growls, mid growls and cleans that all fit into the right places. The album also features a lot more melodic guitar solos that interweave their way into chaos but blend well into the sound. The album gives feelings of both a soothing aura while dancing on the line of devilish flames.
With this album, it is truly a display of ultimately an outstanding performance as expected by the band. It is not easy to display technical and brutal chaos while intertwining moments of clarity and melody. The plethora of skill displayed by the band is a sigh of relief as it has not dissipated during their ten year silence. While this album is not monumental, it still remains as another great release by Akercocke that will please both new and old fans.
Overall Score: 9.0/10
