Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone (2005)^{Release ID: 3753}

The progressive, blackened death metal of Akercocke is a lot to absorb in just one sitting.  I suspect that there's literally weeks worth of listening to come with Words That Go Unspoken... based on the few hours I have spent with it thus far.  The band have always been highly recommended by peers and internet acquaintances, but only now have I finally got around to dipping my toe into their calculated chaos.  Safe to say, I am a convert!

The over-arching experience I take from this record is one of structure.  Whilst not always linear in their narrative, the songs on display here are all built on solid foundations, carefully composed and deftly performed.  As you would expect with a band with progressive leanings, pace and tempo change regularly but blend this with the excellent contrast between the cleaner passages and the more black/death metal segments you soon come to realise that there is a very clever balancing act going on here.  This is apparent from the opening track.  Verdelet starts with a driving and constantly building riff structure that commands large portions of the track with gothic and ethereal vocals giving things an almost new romantic edge.  The black metal vocals are scathing in comparison, giving the track character and personality.  Things even get a little funky as the track ends with some slapping bass audible.

This track superbly sets up the rest of the record, like a trailer to a movie should do.  It showcases what to expect brilliantly without giving away everything at the first point of contact.  Second track Seduced lives up to its name well with its guttural growls and blackened utterances clashing in disparate harmony over a raging wall of guitars and audible bass, their flames stoked by a constant rhythm and percussive maelstrom from David Gray (no, not that one).

By the time I got to track three it struck me that no track so far as really stopped building.  They all feel just as liable to carry on forever as the previous one.  This flow is no mean feat considering the plethora of styles on show here.  To be able to maintain some feel of consistency whilst mixing up pace, style and delivery is the sign of talented musicians being at work.  Shelter From The Sand is a whirlwind of horror movie style spoken word and wicked laughter over a vast and varied soundscape you can easily get lost in.  This sets up Eyes of the Dawn superbly to take up the mantle once more of building into another aggressive and progressive death metal tune.

And so the tracks keep coming, each one of them a joy in their own right as well as all collectively making the progression of the album more intricate as they pass.  There's a real feeling of completeness to the whole experience without also losing sight of the fact that this a record you'll learn more and more about with each listen.  There genuinely does remain a sense of words having gone unspoken and deeds gone undone after each listen that will just have you coming back for more each time, just to make sure you haven't misheard or missed completely their passing.