Black verses and dark witchery are promised on the sixth album from French black death band ACOD. They have worked steadfastly since 2006 under the guise of founding duo Jérome and Fred, although only coming to my attention on recent work via LADLO Productions. It seemed like only yesterday that they were ‘cryptically cursing’ us with their last EP and indeed it was just over a year ago. Since then a new chapter has been undertaken seeing the group join Hammerheart Records and delivering their latest stygian album.
This is a five tracker but it has plenty of substance within due to the anchor-weight of opening 20-minute opus ‘Habentis Maleficia’ Bass twang reverberates and thick coruscating furrows of guitar proffer a ridged backbone whilst the drums drive the mid-paced track ever onwards. There are elements of symphonic sound and keyboards within and the accompanying witchy femininity is presented chorally over Fred’s gravid rasps and spoken word passages which could well be taken straight out the Malleus Maleficarum. With plenty of time to develop there are passages that the sound is allowed to decadently sprawl and with looser airy parts delicately inserted before the next obsidian deluge drives forth. It’s a somewhat adventurous track given short attention spans could waver but luckily it serves as an engrossing spell, never outstaying its welcome. There’s plenty of groove and bouts of head-bang inducing motion as it clatters onwards and hurtles towards the last elegiac section. Summoned with a huge yell from the vocalist this proves both atmospheric and graceful, complete with sound of violin to conclusion.
Just as you are appreciating this elegance ‘The Son of a God (The Heir of Divine Blood)’ absolutely batters in before adding a metallic guitar lick and settling into a stomping rhythmic thrust. With plenty of the aforementioned symphonic embellishment it’s an invigorating and highly-charged number. There’s a Hellenic sounding weave about the guitars as they whiplash away on ‘A Thousand Lives In A Second’ and those vocal snarls have a familiarity about them which will become a little more apparent later. Before that though there’s a touch of apocalyptic misanthropy and sombreness in the shape of ‘May This World Burn.’ ACOD seem determined to thrash us into oblivion here and it’s a burgeoning wild deliverance although not quite a finite one.
Mopping things up with a punishing cover version of Samael classic ‘Black Trip’ the stars align a little and the previous buoyancy and vocals of the earlier material become a little more identifiable. Not that I had particularly noted them on past releases or whether I would have come to such a conclusion without this addition is debatable but yep, it all makes a little more sense. Get your witchy worship on at the following links.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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