Akem Manah is celebrating its return with a second album.
Active in Belgium from 2007 to 2014, the band took a hiatus until 2023. Now consisting of XDS (vocals/guitar/bass/keyboards, Hangman’s Hymn, Plagueland, The Dead Dirt, ex-Nyrak, ex-Saille…), JT (guitar), RD (bass), and GVC (guitar, Hangman’s Hymn, Splendidula, Wound Collector, Xiphactinus, ex-Nyrak…), they are releasing Threnodies via Black Lion Records.
The lineup also features German Dmitriev (Eternal Recurrence) on violin and Fabio Alessandrini (Annihilator, Bonfire…) on drums.
We are greeted by the majestic intro titled The Inevitable Fate of Francis Cobb, where mysterious keyboards await us—at times even very imposing, like an organ—and lead us to the plaintive The End of Earnest Hollow” which starts off very gently but explodes in our faces without warning, immediately captivating us. Somewhere between Doom and Gothic Metal, the clean vocals hypnotize us, aided by screeching violins as well as long leads that occasionally encounter some menacing growls, but also that rich and grandiose finale before tackling The Mystery of Mosef Mehul, which immediately proves to be much heavier. Even the leads carry this dark, unhealthy aura, but the vocalist knows exactly how to steer the ship and naturally draw us into their captivating universe, which grows even denser with The Burning of John Briggs, the next track with its deceptively melancholic and suffocating atmosphere. The growls are even wilder than on the previous tracks, once again fueling the contrast that gradually descends into madness before The Journey of Nathaniel Johnson offers us a moment of respite, which becomes much more massive while remaining fairly calm. The harmonics still haunt us just as effectively, and although it remains fairly gentle, the progression is quite rhythmic, finally exploding into heaviness and dissonance before calling upon Justin Bruce’s exotic instruments on the intoxicating interlude titled The Undoing of an Unknown. The change of scenery is total during these five minutes, and the guest allows us to recharge our souls before they are once again darkened by The Fall of Maximillian Montagne and its haunting rhythm, which lets our minds drift from note to note, tossed about by the power of the rhythm section while the vocalist tells us his story. Disturbing noises emerge and once again cast a shadow over the composition before giving way to The Sleep of Eve Saldana, which offers an intense progression of waves of gentleness, brutality, calm, and rage, leaving us almost curious about what the next section will bring. Then, with a somewhat more solemn touch, The Demise of John Dunn takes over, offering us ever more desolate landscapes. But although the band doesn’t sustain its melancholy until the very last note, it eventually gives way to The Hanging of Edward Hope, an outro with a highly symbolic name that makes one thing clear: sadness has won, and nothing else matters.
I never imagined, upon discovering Threnodies, that I’d be encountering such a rich and gripping work! Akem Manah was completely unknown to me, but the band delivers palpable intensity at every moment, and an hour of listening feels almost too short given how dense this album is!
95/100