I really liked the last Acherontas album (Psychic Death), which ended an era only to rise again two years later and thrill the listeners as Αχέροντας with these seven tracks of occult, melodic sophistication. Indeed, compared to the albums before, Malocchio sounds a step darker .
It starts and grows with this incredibly dense and broad production, through which all the instruments get enough space to unfold themselves.
To describe the general sound and vibe, it can be said that the Greeks sound very Scandinavian, and musically they've placed themselves very well amongst the Greek orthodox black metal scene. In particular, the Swedish sound with the dominant leads characterises the album from front to back. But what distinguishes this album from the things just mentioned is, that it sounds Scandinavian cold, but has a much fuller and wider production, that gives this coldness its additional depth. It sounds broad, powerful and absolutely epic and fits in exactly or rather let this occult, ritual sound really sprout.
An absolute highlight on this album are the vocals, which can't be beaten in variety. From Priest's "classic" black metal screams that sound absolutely sinister, to aggressive shouting, opera-like vocals, low and high spoken passages with some clean singing, choirs and a rather special voice at the beginning of Belial, which isn't actually Priest's.
The guitars also play in incredibly wide spectrums and, despite their force, still stand out with their melodic picking. A lot of high tremolo picking à la Nightbringer on Belial, partly very "friendly sounding" leads like in the intro of Satan, which is quite a contrast to what comes after. Also, very aggressive black metal riffing like in the beginning of Leviathan can be heard.
The drums also do a great job, covering the spectrums from fast to slow blast beats with a loud and rich snare sound to lead the aggressive parts in the songs, powerful midtempo passages and dragging doom passages to encase the more ritual atmospheric parts with spoken words or choir.
The album has a common thread in terms of sound, but is still so deep and varied. Each of the seven songs has its own signature and has something special about it and yet, they fit all perfectly into the overall concept: for example, an orchestral sample intro and acoustic guitar outro on Hecate, the obligatory powerful Greek spoken words on the last track or the evocative chants at the end of Belial, which can't be topped in terms of atmosphere.
There are no fillers amongst the songs and they all have a reasonable length.
What makes this album great as a whole is, that although it uses familiar techniques, the realisation is damn good. That's because every passage, every riff, despite conventional methods, but it doesn't sound like it's been heard 10000 times before, also in relation to the discography of Acherontas. What you get is 100% Acherontas and nothing else. The awesome thing is, that even though they don't change their sound much, it always sounds innovative and fresh in its own way, because the songs are complex and multi layered featuring different parts and interesting song structures.
Here are a few detailed personal highlights:
The last piece of lyrics on Lucifer ("I live and breathe by thy lawless fire...") is repeated twice (a half) using three different vocal types. High-pitched spoken words and clean vocals for the first time and rumbling screams and shouts for the second repetition. In addition, there is a change of rhythm in the second run from classic blast beats to midtempo with double base inserts and a highly melodic tremolo riff as underpinning.
A longer spoken passage in the second half of Belial driven by driving blast beats and furious riffing. This particularly highlights the contrast between Priest's powerful, yet very calm and deep spoken vocals, which are supported by some chanting, and the aggressive musical accompaniment. The change of rhythm in the second half to midtempo lets Priest's voice sound even more soothing and evocative, also the guitars take a step back themselves.
Finally, the last part of Chronozon, which is introduced by dissonant leads and a whispering part in which the drums take themselves completely out, only to end in a maelstrom of blast beats, aggressive vocals, accompanied by a powerful shout in the background, with the guitars continuing their dissonant playing and everything ends in chaos.
The only subjective criticism on my part is the sometimes too playful sounding leads, but these have always distinguished Acherontas.
In any case, one of the top albums of 2022 so far for me and absolutely recommendable to anyone who likes melodic, varied and occult black metal.
Sample:
Αχεροντας - Malocchio: The Seven Tongues of Δαημων (Full Album Premiere)
