Akroma Seth
by Trevor Portz
Staff Writer
“For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and animal. Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am Yahweh.” –Exodus 12:12
As the story goes, in order to convince the Pharaoh to release Israelite slaves, Yahweh released ten plagues on Egypt, ranging from insect infestations to darkness, and ultimately the death of first-born Egyptian children. It was only a matter of time before a metal band attempted to set this story to music, and on Seth, France’s Akroma have done just that. A number of liberties have been taken with the tale, most obviously linking it to Egyptian God of darkness, storms, and chaos, Seth (aka Set), but perhaps this was done to make them seem less like a Christian band. Though the lyrics are in French, the music is reflective of the story’s inherent darkness, so even without the help of Google Translator, it’s fairly easy to follow what’s going on.
Falling in the category of symphonic black metal, Akroma brilliantly blend the more harsh and grim aspects of traditional black metal with a variety of other styles: neo-classical, thrash, and power metal. The songs have a very cinematic quality to them, as would be necessary to properly illustrate an epic story such as this. The band rarely reach the blast-beast drenched, break-neck speeds of Immortal or Dark Funeral, but their inclusion of the other styles keeps the music interesting without forced reliance on hyperspeed tempos. A reasonable description would surely include comparisons to Dusk and Her Embrace-era Cradle of Filth, and the virtuosic guitar playing of Dream Theater’s John Petrucci.
Following the order detailed in the Book of Exodus, Seth opens with “L’eau Changeé en Sang,” or “Water Turned to Blood.” Though Flavien Morel’s multilayered keyboards are effective, one can’t help but wish the band had the budget to employ a true symphony for this intro (as well as various other symphonic bits throughout the album). Nevertheless, the keys are used effectively, building up to the full-on metal that propels the song, and more importantly, the scream. Why italicize? Because this is no ordinary rock scream. This goes far beyond “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” instead reaching levels akin to Jim Gillette’s legendary howl on Nitro’s “Machine Gunn Eddie.”
Sounding like a strange hybrid of King Diamond, Tom Kiefer, and Dani Filth, Alain “Bob” Germonville’s ridiculous shrieks are certainly in a class of their own. This is both a blessing and curse, however. Though they effectively embody the darkness and destruction carried by the plagues of which they sing, Germonville’s vocals are so ear-piercingly high and shrill that they are oftentimes distracting, and occasionally laughably silly. This not to say that they are bad, per se, or even that they should be changed, as death growls and standard harsh black metal vocals were often criticized in the early days of their respective genres, but soon grew to be accepted and expected. Who’s to say that Akroma’s vocals aren’t merely the start of a whole new trend?
Vocal insanity aside, the music of Seth is well written, well arranged, and perfectly illustrative of the underlying lyrical content. The music flows from full-power, layered metal movements to quiet, acoustic passages overlain with spoken word and clean female vocals. Each track features a solo by a different six-string shredder, and though each brings his own flavor, there is a unity to the playing. Perhaps the most shocking part is that Akroma has somehow managed to wrangle 10 different, relatively unknown guitarists with such a consistent level of skill. It’s almost like the black metal equivalent of a Favored Nations compilation, which is unquestionably impressive. If any drawback could be found from the music, it would be in the (what appear to be) programmed drums. Though well-programmed with generally realistic tones, many times the computerization and robotic feel becomes overly obvious. It seems shocking that the band couldn’t find at least one amazing drummer amongst the guitarists.
In a genre typically dominated by Scandinavians and Brits, it’s nice to see that France has no shortage of extreme talent. Pending acceptance of the, erm, unique vocal style, there’s little doubt that Akroma could become a household name, at least amongst the musically intelligent metal community. But what theme for their next album? The 12 signs of the zodiac? How about a musical tribute to the 13 original US colonies? Time will tell, but for now, we can solace in the fact that the Biblical plagues have never sounded so good.
Label: Thundering Records/Manitou Music
Web: http://www.akroma-metal.net ; http://www.myspace.com/akromametal
Band Lineup:
Alain “Bob” Germonville (vocals)
Matthieu Morand (guitar, drums, programming)
Flavien Morel (keyboards)
Lulu (vocals)
Nicolas Colnot (bass)
Christophe Danjon (solo on “L’eau changée en sang”)
Benjamin Sertelon (solo on “Les grenouilles”)
Victor Lafuente (solo on “Les moustiques”)
Thibault Coisne(solo on “Les taons”)
Alex Hilbert (solo on “La peste du bétail”)
Bertrand Drécourt (solo on “Les ulcères”)
Thomas Leroy (solo on “La grèle”)
Nicolas Soulat (solo on “Les sauterelles”)
Pascal Lanquetin (solo on “La mort des premiers nés”)
Hugo Lefebvre (solo on “Les ténèbres”)
Tracks:
1. L’eau changée en sang
2. Les grenouilles
3. Les moustiques
4. Les taons
5. La peste du bétail
6. Les ulcères
7. La grêle
8. Les sauterelles
9. La mort des premiers nés
10. Les ténèbres
Hardrock Haven rating: 8.6/10