The Axis Of Perdition - Tenements (Of The Anointed Flesh)

After The Axis Of Perdition's last album, fans thought they had completely gone off the deep end. 'Urfe' was an interesting, ambient metal experiment, but a complete turnaround from the black metal horror that was 'Deleted Scenes...' Now, it seems The Axis Of Perdition has re-coordinated their priorities and attempted to go back to their older sound, which, for some fans, is a joyful reunion. 'Tenements' comes across in the avant-garde black metal style along the lines of bands like Blut Aus Nord and Deathspell Omega- fuzzy and haphazard at times but dark and foreboding while keeping wonderfully progressive. The album begins with "The Sleeper" which is a brief track full of spoken words that makes it seem like that this album would be another 'Urfe,' but once "Unveiled" comes in the squealing guitars, muddled drums, and nightmarish atmosphere all brings back decent memories. The vocals sound as disturbed as ever- more clear in their shrieking than usual- but often mixed in with some clean maddening rants and wailings that really make this nightmare sound as real as it did with 'Deleted Scenes...' only much better, such as on "The Flesh Spiral." Some might even compare this nightmarish conquest to the latest Aborym album-'Psychogrotesque'- minus the industrial black metal influences.

Other tracks like "Dark Red Other" are just ambient pauses; one can barely hear the music on it. It is similar to the closing track "Awakenings," which goes hand in hand with "Sleeper" by featuring the spoken word parts again, but they are much more faded this time and hard to hear. Regardless, these quieter tracks don't exactly have as much of a commanding presence as the louder black metal parts. And sometimes the music might be too commanding. Aside from three tracks, a lot of Axis' music on this album is relatively the same. The same pausing, haphazard buzzing guitars cut through the silence amongst the music; sometimes they sound extremely random, like the album is skipping, such as on the track "Desintegration," near the end. While it is more of the band's experimental focus, some might find it annoying, especially as it repeats itself for four minutes. The drums are very difficult to hear amongst the distortion in the earlier tracks, so some might deem the unimportant, but they really help flesh out the music along with the guitars and vocals. The bass is almost nonexistent. Overall, the flow of the music goes very well for the psychotic nature of the band, but at the same time the nightmare just isn't as ambiently effective as 'Deleted Scenes...' or even the 'Physical Illucinations' EP. It's a new kind of nightmare, but it's clear that the band will never again create a perfect 'Deleted Scenes...'

Basically, if one was really into the latest Deathspell Omega album, or something like 'Odinist' from Blut Aus Nord- due to the rather hazy, constant sound- then this will suit listeners quite well. It may not be the Axis Of Perdition that older fans were hoping for, but it comes in very close as being almost right back to where they were perfect. For new fans, this is a great place to begin as it shows Axis reinvigorated with fresh material and a great sense of ambient black metal that isn't too quiet or boring. Just the right amount of noise to keep up the disturbances.

  1. The Sleeper
  2. Unveiled
  3. Unbound
  4. Sigils And Portents
  5. The Flesh Spiral
  6. Dark Red Other
  7. Changer
  8. Desintegration
  9. Ordained
  10. Awakenings

Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Jul 10, 2011

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