Akefal - Opus Darkness
Shadow Records
Black Death Metal
7 songs (19'41")
Release year: 2021
Reviewed by Alex

Swedo-Danish trio Akefal don’t just look the part, they sound like it. Blood splattered, faces indistinguishable, they play a strangely chaotic and weirding form of black/death metal. Not confined to any specific plane of extreme metal Akefal has Finnish bestial nastiness, Morbid Angel angularity, Latin American aplomb and Beherit savaging chaos in them, to combine with metallic fury and punkish disdain. The First Whore has a strong bass line, while Apotheosis of the Flesh pummels and slices at the same time, whereas the title track continues to pound the low end, with some melody lurking under all the cacophony and blasting. As chaotic and extreme as Opus Darkness is, it is very well and cleanly produced so that all of these layers don’t become an indecipherable mess. Apotheosis of the Flesh and Ravenous Spawn find time to stop and reflect on this freaky show for a few quiet seconds, but Opus Darkness is not for the faint of heart.

Three tracks of the demo Repository of Stolen Fire are tacked onto this release by Shadow Records to paint the most complete picture of Akefal and their brief two year history. First Ritual of Abomination and Definite Savagery are much rawer in terms of sound, but they aim to dominate and punch just the same. Definite Savagery unleashes what is probably the longest solo in its apocalyptic rise and things end just abruptly as they started.

Mangled in its shapelessness and attempting to mangle your brain in the process, Akefal manages to do that in the short 20 min (if you count the demo).

Killing Songs :
Alex quoted 78 / 100
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