Acherontas Vamachara
(Agonia Records)
Rating : 4/5
The third full length album from Greek metallers Archerontas
begins with a deceptively slow atmospheric opening track. Its spoken word
section supported by ethereal backing vocals does nothing to prepare you for
the brutal wall of sound that will hit you with the remaining tracks on the
album.
Guitars and vocals (both spoken word and growling) are the prominent
individual sounds on the album as a whole with sections of strong sounding
percussion for example on “Blood Current Illumination”, however, these
individual instruments are always surrounded by an all encompassing pure heavy
sound with a lot of use made of distortion. This serves to give the whole album
a unifying presence of full, heavy in your face noise. Having said this the
tempo changes throughout the tracks provide enough distinction to avoid the
album sounding like one continuous track
The title track “Vamachara” is one of the stand out tracks
for me kicking straight in with the brutal heaviness I have come to expect and
with some of the most passionate rough vocals on the album. Tempo changes and
an excellent guitar solo towards the end. Also “Ohm Krim Kali” which from an
ominous slow start heavy on percussion ebbs and flows as more layers and volume
are added to the music and then stripped back down and the spoken word vocals
fit well with this track.
Overall an album for lovers of the heavy sound which while
being consistently good has enough diversity to hold the attention. It definitely
has me reaching for the back catalogue.
1. Opening the eye of the storm
2. Blood Current Illumination
3. Abraxas
4. Ohm Krim Kali
5. Beyond the Mazeways to Ophidian Gnosis
6. Drakonian Womb
