vote
8.0
- Band:
AKHLYS - Duration: 00:52:59
- Available from: 05/07/2024
- Label:
-
Beware of the Dead
Streaming not yet available
“House of the Black Geminus,” the new long-awaited album by Akhlys, marks another significant chapter in the career of a band that is already widely established in the contemporary black metal scene. Although the initial surprise that accompanied the releases of “Melinoë” or “The Dreaming I” has now faded, the American group continues to leave its mark for the quality of its compositions and the cohesion of its distinctive style.
Again, the strength of the repertoire lies in the project's ability to passionately blend the cold and digital tone of the (dark) ambient world with an intense and exquisitely hostile black metal. This combination not only makes the sound immediately recognizable, but also manages to concretely transport the listener into an immersive and at times genuinely disturbing sound path. A distinctive element that deserves particular attention is, as always, the extensive use of melodic brushstrokes that rise to ecstatic tones. These passages, no longer strategically scattered within the tracks but now become the true fulcrum of many of them, not only amplify the tension, but play a crucial role in the musical architecture, contributing to building a perennial climate of anxiety and desolation and adding an emotional dimension that further elevates the impact of the material.
Aligning itself without major jolts on the style of “Melinoë”, “House of the Black Geminus” captures attention from the very first bars with a meticulous production and a maniacal attention to sound details. The tracks are indeed permeated by a constant tension and compose a sort of shadowy and sidereal dance, which in some parts ends up taking on a robotic gait, full of electric traction. A sort of futurism reinterpreted in the light of extreme metal, ambient and death industrial nuances; a sound therefore made of unusual sound mixtures, which blend together with confidence, tracing a varied path, at times tortuous, syncopated and at the same time of great, fluid coherence.
Although perhaps lacking a sensational track like, for example, “Ephialtes” on “Melinoë”, the tracklist, longer than that of the previous album, still manages to be complete and enveloping as per tradition. “The Mask of Night-Speaking” and “Sister Silence, Brother Sleep”, in particular, are excellent episodes: a becoming of evocative and visionary broken shapes and lines, of ambivalences between euphoria and gloom, between passionate outbursts and murky drifts, all capable of releasing enormous energy in its syncopated and spasmodic alternation.
“House of the Black Geminus” is a work that confirms the martial elegance and artistic maturity of Naas Alcameth and his associates. Although it lacks the surprise effect of their first releases, the album manages to keep the quality bar high, thanks to sophisticated writing and impeccable execution with which the group continues to evoke the vastness of space and explore certain depths of sonic darkness, offering a particular and above all memorable listening experience. A test that will not disappoint long-time fans and that could attract new followers into the disturbing world of this distinctive reality.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM