One of my favorite things to do is explore Bandcamp for new music and oftentimes I find a multitude of fantastic bands to sink my teeth into. Recently I came across Acathexis on one such ocassion and after reading people’s thoughts I was intrigued. The band is comprised of Jacob Buczarski (Mare Cognitum), Déhá (Cult of Erinyes), and Dany Tee, and together they have managed to compose a powerful album filled with pain and sadness in the form of harrowing Black Metal.
The genre is diverse and while it has seen progression and variety throughout the years it is still often filled with bands who try to sound like every other run of the mill act. It is always refreshing to find musicians who break that barrier and create their own unique sound. Black Metal for me has always been about the atmosphere and feelings expressed through the music, painting pictures of everything from struggle to triumph…. The possibilities are endless.
Musically Acathexis play a suffocating blend of Black Metal that is filled to the brim with ambience and despair that is bursting with emotion harnessed within every riff, blastbeat, and tortured scream. Upon looking up the meaning of the word Acathexis it basically means lack of emotional response where it would normally be expected. I guess you could say that all of it was poured into the core of this album.
Opening track Immurement is a sweltering wall of hopelessness with intense guitar melodies presented in a cacophony of nihilism. The vocals are powerful and layered with grief stricken growls and screams. The following two tracks are just as intense as the first.
Life Only Festers unravels riff by riff creating a sense of longing and the reflection of decay staring back at you. Veins Hollowed starts off slow with dreamy guitars and low whispered growls and then unleashes into a whirlwind of fantastic Black Metal riffage and works in harmony with the other songs, while still maintaining a nice mid-tempo pace.
The final track Stillborn//Isolate is atmospheric and unwavering in force and closes the album with a bang. Although it only consists of four tracks they are long without being repetitive in nature. This is a great release and I hope to hear more from this band in the future.
A definite must listen on all levels and if you are in the mood for an emotional journey through some great Atmospheric Black Metal then do not hesitate to look any further.
Rating: 4/5
The Metal Wanderlust 