Akrival

Vitriolic

Pictonian Records 2008

Akrival lets flow freely vicious and slightly melodic blackened death metal from the heart of Germany.  Vitriolic is the second full length album from these .  The second track, Striving for Antipathy is a violent excursion into cerebral metal with strange basslines and odd breaks and explosive drums showering the listener with burning shrapnel.  Up next is more complex yet still sadistic blackened death with intelligently designed rhythms which smash into sharp militant cadences and machinegun fire riffing with hints of melody lurking within the shadows.  Lost Man's Domain possesses the most straightforward and blackest riffing of the entire CD.  Moor of Mercilessness develops more slowly like the uncoiling of a python as each riffs slowly flexes before striking.  Tons of double bass make their presence felt within the song's confines as does a demented guitar solo.  Desperate Fight touches on some Nordic iciness with its opening riffs but then maliciously attacks with ferocious riffs.  The album really never veers away from its relentless and aggressive assault on the listener's eardrums.  Scarog's vocals achieve a happy medium between the guttural bellowings of death metal with this scathing shrieks of black metal.  The overall production sounds very dry for some reason though the guitar leads sound lush.  Vitriolic is not groundbreaking by any stretch of the imagination but is still a solid release.  For some reason the songs don't strike with the full impact they could or should have.  Complex and cerebral but still aggressive and violent.