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Akercocke: Words that go unspoken, deeds that go undone

29/04/11 || Daemonomania

Again, it is a total mystery to me why ole Daemo would end up covering so much of Smackyourcock’s discography for GD, but hey, here we are. Might be that the band’s best album was written up previously by someone else. But then Lord K ran out of emo cream and viciously deleted the old review. While conjuring up some Torture Division riffs. Long story short, I’m happy as a pig in angel vomit to be pre-, re-, or de-discussing 2005’s “Words that go unspoken…”. It’s a unique piece of death/black/synthpoppy metal and at the moment is easily Akercocke’s crowning achievement.

For those who haven’t spoken the words or done the deeds, Rackorcocke is best described as Opeth’s evil brother. The one with the mustache and the dark hair from an alternate dimension (Britannia). These guys dress all spiffy and read big books about Luciferian rites. They started out as a pretty boring black metal band but decided to chuck the kitchen sink into the frostbitten mire and see what emerged. We are happy they did.

By their 4th album, Satan’s suavest adherents had honed their craft to the point where a song that features grooving brutal DM, high-speed icy BM, and bouncy keyboard interludes could sound coherent. The production is crystal clear by necessity so that absolutely nothing from the wild songwriting world of Crackerboxe comes across as disjointed. Most importantly it preserves the pure fucken atmosphere on tracks like “Verdelet”, “Shelter…”, or “Seraphs…”. You really get the feeling that these are some blokes with a complex sense of purpose – to seduce you into an unholy blowbang session with class and finesse. Something IG wouldn’t understand, as I (along with most of the male population of Baltimore) rarely use any restraint when we play spongy-head tetherball with his tonsils.

Now to expend a few sentences on Jason Mendmyboot’s vocals. They’re essential to the band’s sound, as you can’t have a weird loopy electronic part with gremlin screeches (OR CAN YOU?) or a black metal part with death grunts (OR CAN YOU?) or a death metal part with clean vocals (STOP IT OPETH). Despite the fact that his clean range is limited and his deep growls completely lack enunciation or clarity, Jason XIII: The Man Behind the Mask with the Flask somehow does a pretty awesome job. There are some laughs to be had when he takes himself too seriously or attempts the ever-humiliating demonic cackle, but if you’ve immersed yourself in Slackerjocke’s world these goofy moments can be forgiven.

Rest of the band are no slouches either. David Gray deserves a lot of credit for being a dude and being tight as hell behind the kit. You name the style and he’s got you covered. Guitar-wise, I really like the way the band uses acoustic guitars atop the distorted ones. It gives the tunes at hand an edge of complexity, again a requirement since a lot of the black/death riffs are a bit stale. I’m not sure why no one’s really credited with the arrangements of the electronics, as they form a huge part of Trackadog’s identity. Maybe they sacrificed him/her.

That’s about all I’ve gotta say about this one. An impressive album and worth your euros fer sure. For those who adhere to the more extreme varieties of metal but are willing to keep an open mind (no, not an open throat, IG) about the ways in which non-metal elements can be blended into the familiar to produce variety. Word. Spoken, even.

Information
Released: 2005
Label: Earache
Website: Akercocke MySpace
Band
Jason Mendonça: vocals, guitars
Matt Wilcock: guitar
Peter Theobald: bass
David Gray: drums

Tracklist
01. Verdelet
02. Seduced
03. Shelter From the Sand
04. Eyes of the Dawn
05. Abbadonna, Dying in the Sun
06. Words That Go Unspoken (Part 1)
07. Intractable (Words That Go Unspoken Part 2)
08. Seraphs and Silence
09. The Penance
10. Lex Talionis

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