Acherontas - Vamachara

(CD, Agonia Records, 2011)

Greece is definitely not a country that can claim a large territory upon the great Metal map since the number of bands that have broken through the country’s boundaries is rather small. On the other hand, this country should be proud of the restless underground scene that remains strong even if the Greek metalheads have not been very supportive. In the ranks of the underground scene the trained ear can distinguish a handful of bands that are capable to do more than just play most of the times the awkward role of the concert openers. One of these hidden gems is ACHERONTAS, a band that has been around from more than a decade having in their backcatalogue three full length album including this one.

The band belongs to the traditional Black Metal scene drawing influences from the Norse scene embedded in the ritualistic aesthetics I personally like having in such albums. I mean, what’s the point of playing Black Metal without a decent dose of occultism, darkness or evilness? None is the answer and if you look at the current Black Metal scene (ok, the mainstream part) you will realize that the bands have lost the connection with the dark side of Black Metal and the mentality that goes with. In this context “Opening The Eye Of The Storm” is the perfect into and electronic samples that took me to MANILLA ROAD’s “The Courts Of Chaos” but not for long since the keyboard tunes highlighted the term Black Metal soon enough. The trademark dry and monotonous drum work and the repetitive riff structures define the band’s musical spectrum while the very good vocals support the mysticism this album possesses in its entirety. If you are familiar to the 90s Norse Black Metal scene then you know that the terms monotonous and repetitive have absolutely nothing to do with being boring and single-sided. On the contrary, listening to the album who can feel and not only listen to the blackness of the compositions and if you are extremely careful you will sense the sulfur smell coming from the fire pits of Hell. The mid-tempo breaks and the almost clean vocals add a TIAMAT layer that can be tracked down to the “Clouds” magnificent days. Sometimes the distortion takes a step away from the traditional Black Metal levels and reveals an almost Heavy Metal guitar profile like the one presented in the first minutes of “Abraxas”. In this one I just have to praise the guitar work and the epic BATHORY rhythm section that I learn to cherish in albums like “Blood Fire And Death” or “Hammerhear”. The mysticism and occultism of “Ohm Krim Kali” will send shivers down your spine with the Eastern melodies that blend with the bizarre and definitely creepy sound effects creating the perfect dark background for the chanting vocalisms.

The album closes after the almost eleven minutes of the epos “Drakonian Womb“. This one comes to haunt your dreams with ritualistic drum work and the excellent BATHORY-esque guitars that slowly build the foundation for another trademark Norse soaked Black Metal hymn. If you like to use the term old-school then this song will give you many reasons to do so. But, that is not all since this song comes with an ebonite black atmosphere and in times faster tempo that could reveal some early IMMORTAL influences.

I am sure that with this review I will not convince someone who has not been a Black Metal accolade to check ACHERONTAS out. Seasons have changed and nowadays mainly the young metalheads are on the hunt for simpler song structures that can satisfy the fast-food­ music consuming mentality. On the other hand, everyone who still considers Black Metal something more than a music genre can satisfy his hunger and more with the new ACHERONTAS album.

8/10 

Links:

www.MySpace.Com/Acherontas
www.Facebook.Com/pages/Acherontas

Tracklist:

01. Opening The Eye Of The Storm
02. Blood Current Illumination
03. Abraxas
04. Vamachara
05. Ohm Krim Kali
06. Beyond The Mazeways To Ophidian Gnosis
07. Drakonian Womb

Lineup:

Acherontas V.P. - Vocals, Guitars
Akhkhar - Bass
Enkwld - Guitar
Kwazar - Drums

Written by Dimitris Kontogeorgakos Saturday, 29 October 2011 08:59