"I was first introduced to this album via the closing cut, ‘Eight The Adept’, which begins as a nuclear speed metal nightmare of sprinting guitars.... There’s an injection of melody and an almost Slayer-like menace as all manner of war-torn commotion explodes behind it. The rattling machine guns are a nice touch too, and I’m surprised at the technical quality of this record. In fact, once you’ve taken the plunge, Waxen’s latest opus is an exhibition of fine guitar playing from this clearly talented chap who effortlessly merges obscure speedy thrash with industrialized black metal"
Toby Knapp might be best known as a guitar virtuoso of some repute, and for his work with the Century Media power metal act Onward earlier in the millennium, but the guy has ever been a genuine lover of extreme underground metal, and Waxen is not his first dance with the stuff. There was the tech black/death project Darken, and his team up with ex-Vital Remains vocalist Jeff Gruslin for the second Godless Rising album Trumpet of Triumph, which was pretty good. Here he's gone all out 90s black metal, which I was anticipating since I think his guitar skills might lend a lot of musicality that you don't otherwise hear very often in a very rhythm-guitar-grounded genre like this. In the end, Agios Holokauston does present us with some vivid composition work, but I can't say it feels distinct enough to evade the confines of its medium or really register much personality.
These are some of the most rancid, raw rhythm guitar's he's worked with, so there's an air of suicidal post Burzum black metal which is then driven home by batteries of electronic drums, squelching rasps that are faintly audible as support for the guitars, and then a slightly more eloquent countermeasure of melody and dissonance than you're going to hear off the garden variety bedroom band. Harmonies abound, embedded in the sick filth of his tremolo picking, while there is this added layer of ambient, shining texture supplied which was frankly my favorite contrast of the music. On occasion he'll hit this cacophonous fit of tempo shifting and violence where his vocals are really prominent, and this gave me a Deathcrush vibe which I enjoyed, but this aspect of his performance seems inconsistent throughout the 36 minutes. There are also a number of slowly developing, soul-leeching slower dissonant passages like "Hollow Eyes" which never seem to transmigrate into something truly devastating, despite the initial promise they show.
At any rate, Agios Holokauston can't be accused of lacking some versatility and genuine pathos, and if you've ever found yourself wondering what a Leviathan or Xasthur effort might sound like if written by a guitar god with a trad heavy metal background, I can't think of many more examples beyond this. It's lo fi enough to sate those seeped in underground obsession, but at the same time that could be a turnoff for those wanting more highly developed black metal, which is not exactly Knapps' aim with this project and that's fine. I was in rapture for a few tunes, but losing interest elsewhere. Don't let this serve as a discouragement if you want to experience raw black metal with an angle, but I think some further time in the think-tank will likely serve Waxen well. I don't remember the debut Fumaroth enough to make a substantial comparison, but I feel like that album was stranger in disposition. Nonetheless, this is unfriendly, agonizing extremity that falls somewhere in between Burzum's pre-prison catalog and the Nattefrost solo records; worth a listen once but I will make no wagers that you'll want to hear it twice.
Metal vet and scene legend Toby Knapp (Onward, Toby Knapp band, GODLESS RISING) returns with his cult solo-project WAXEN and its second album, “Agios Holokauston”. WAXEN's first album for MORIBUND, “Agios Holokauston” is dark 'n' dazzling display of Knapp's songwriting acumen and technical mastery. Handling all instruments, complex 'n' coiling black metal is ripped asunder with Knapp's characteristic brand of shred, his six-string sorcery winding 'n' wending through all manner of riff catacombs yet always locating a haunting, poignant place for the listener to dwell. But no matter where WAXEN's diabolical vision goes, Knapp never loses sight of heavy metal songcraft. Behold “Agios Holokauston”!
* Highly anticipated second album from the US Black Metal legend !!!
* Solo band of World renowned axe-shredder Toby Knapp (Toby Knapp band, Onward, Godless Rising)!!!
* Composed, performed, mixed and produced by the guitar genius Toby Knapp himself !
* Cult cover art & layout by The Old Goat.
* Brutal Black Metal with excellent melody and superb song writing.
* Mandatory for fans of Watain, Leviathan, Ancient Wisdom, Marduk, Craft and Deathspell Omega !!!
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