Akercocke

This record is really something else. Combining the best elements of Tool and Nile’s tribal/experimental tangents, offensively on point tech-death and a touch of black metal’s feverish grime, the bar has pretty much been set for progressive metal as of now. Of course, Akercocke’s fundamentalist Satanic approach (by which I mean their graphic, literal interpretation) does nothing to dull the proceedings, coating the group’s already formidable attack with an air of demonic authenticity. Song movements shape shift mid-phrase effortlessly, one moment battering you with blasts, the next chilling you with hair-raising atmospherics. The production is raw but strangely clear and dynamic, striking just as compelling a balance as the songwriting. Truly fantastic, this leaves the group’s past efforts, and what little is left of the competition, in the dust.