Review by Paul Monkhouse for MPM
Hewn from elements older than time itself, there is a magic about Akilla that seems sure to push them firmly into the upper echelons of metal, new album ‘The Gods Have Spoken’ the latest skirmish of their epic voyage.
The four-piece from Cambridgeshire seemed to have captured something that is both rooted in tradition yet thrillingly modern, the eight tracks presented a blistering melding of viscera and melody.
This is a band reborn, their full-length debut featuring a new line-up with the recent edition of bass player Boudikath joining Ross Wilson on vocals and guitar, Will Taylor on drums and six stringer Dave Hill. Given the space to really breathe, the release fulfils their ambitions in spectacular style.
‘Winds of Winter’ makes for a breathless opener, its titanic sound almost overwhelming as guttural vocals and sweeping instrumentation come together in a wave that sweeps everything in its path and climbs to unimaginable heights.
A furious riff kicks off ‘Serpent and the Son’ heralding a huge rampage that hits harder than a thousand Vikings landing on shore to pillage nearby towns and villages in a blizzard of axes, war cries and blood. Whilst this might sound all very brutal, the band certainly know how to balance light and shade, this song being a prime example, and the melody at the heart of ‘Queen of Heaven’ puts Akilla in another league entirely.
The fractured rhythms and breakdown during ‘Song of the Seafarers’ keeps up the adrenaline rush, built for arenas and should be played to thousands in muddy festival fields, the quicksilver solo and peaceful Prog section a moment’s pause before the final limb-sundering close. There’s no let-up as the suitably titled ‘Blood Bone’ brings the most hardcore riffing and sledgehammer punch of the album, the whole still shot through with irresistible shafts of dancing light amongst the dark wave of sound.
All killer, no filler, the album rides the crest of a wave and the closing trio of sounds paint with both broad strokes and an intimate attention to detail, the production capturing something that would stir the imagination of Peter Jackson, so huge and cinematic in scope as it is.
The busy ‘Cosmica’ dazzles, title track ‘The Gods Have Spoken’ blends death metal, a touch of Ghost and some intriguing dashes of Mike Oldfield and closer ‘Echo’ is utterly breath-taking. Whilst bands like Metallica and Avenged Sevenfold may bring out huge albums to great fanfare this year, Akilla have released something that may be an era defining classic debut and one that is potentially set to be another huge stepping stone towards rock music dominating the planet once again.
Exciting times to live in and Akilla have made their first salvo towards a place in the book of immortality with style and force. If they continue like this, they’ll be truly unstoppable.
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