Akolyth — Akolyth
The album cover is a black and white collage, processed with a filter to imitate graphics. The main background is black. In the center is a slightly chaotic composition, most obvious of which is a human skull, two palms with eyes on them, and a barbed-wire ring resembling a crown of thorns. To the right and left of the composition are vertical lines ending in circles. I think that these elements are ornamental in nature. Above the collage is the project logo, written in white capital letters of one of the varieties of the Gothic font. Also on the background, there are many texture white dots of different sizes, resembling a starry sky or fine spray of paint. Honestly, I wasn’t a fan. Firstly, this is a rather slurred composition, some elements of which are difficult to identify. Secondly – the artwork didn’t feel suitable for black metal. I say it felt more suitable for the album of some noise- or power electronics-project.
The album lasts a little less than thirty-seven minutes, and consists of four tracks with each lasting a little over nine minutes. On the self-titled album, Akolyth presents the listener with black metal in the most classic sense of the genre. Though I felt there were a fair amount of high frequencies- at play- which felt like they artificially created to make it sound less perfect/ nasty. Despite this, all the instruments sound pretty clear. Most of all I liked the fact that the bass were not hidden in the background, as is often the case in BM. Of course, due to the imbalance of frequencies in some parts of the compositions, there is a unbalancement in the mix - guitar riffs become less clear and some nuances of the drum track disappear. However, I would not say that it is very unnerving. The vocal line, processed by the delay and reverb, seemed to be a little slurred and too in the background, so it is difficult to clearly judge the timbre of the vocals. Nevertheless, it quite nicely fits into the overall sound picture. Despite the flaws, the overall sound seemed rather dense and interesting to me. In terms of composition, all four tracks are quite diverse. During one song, several melodic lines, techniques, and rhythmic parts can change. Here you can hear almost the entire range of musical techniques used in black metal, but the common basis for all compositions is the classic Scandinavian black metal of the late 80s - early 90s of the last century. The closest musical comparisons I would say early works of Mayhem and Darkhrone. Of course, one could cite as an example of several dozen bands playing similar music. But it was precisely such associations that arose to me because Akolyth's tracks are very stingy on melodies and are more based on riffs. The album has a sufficient number of positive characteristics, such as aggressiveness, technical skill in using musical equipment, and quite competent compositional work. I think that the debut album can be called a pretty solid piece of music, made in the same style, and having a concept. However, along with the obvious advantages, there are also some negative aspects. They are less noticeable, and my judgment of deficiencies is based more on sensations and experience. Nevertheless, it has affected my impression of the album more than it’s advantages.
There is sadly very little originality in Akolyth's music. Throughout the entire album, I didn’t hear anything new or disctictive. I can’t say that the riffs used in the tracks do not deserve attention, though, they are created according to very firm genre rules and cliches. Of course, one can say that Akolyth adheres to the classic canons of the genre. However, it seems to me that this album could have been recorded in any year and by any black metal band, the number of which is incalculable. The first thought that came to my mind after listening was "OK, this is another black metal album." . It seemed to me that the atmosphere of the album is far from that ‘primitive’ and gloomy atmosphere that defined the formative years of the genre. There are of course examples of when any bands, imitating a classical sound, to achieving a certain original atmosphere close to the genre's roots. However, in the case of Akolyth. Of course, I’m expressing my personal opinion. But, after listening to the album, I have a feeling there's a crisis brewing in the black metal genre- though I hope I’m wrong. In suming up, I believe that the self-titled album of Akolyth turned out pretty good debut, lacking, however, a clear identity.