Choronzon

One of the more adventurous extreme metal releases of 2003 came via demented British Satan-worshipping deviants Akercocke. Choronzon, the band's third full-length, scurries from highly melodic prog-classical moments to the most primitive, me-smash-'em death metal imaginable — and everything in-between. Shimmering and beautiful instrumental "Prince of the North" leads into "Leviathan," a highly sophisticated seven-minute cavalcade of surging riffs, clean vocals, and melodic peaks — only to be followed by "Enraptured by Evil," which, with its simplistic two-note, quadruple-time guitar jig, ludicrous blastbeats, and cupped-microphone vocal belches (brief melodic respite excepted), could be emotionally stunted Cannibal Corpse circa 1991. Take also the nefarious synths of instrumentals "Upon Coriaceous Wings" and "Choronzon" (think the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange); the Beneath the Remains-era Sepultura riffs of "Scapegoat"; the strangely catchy strains of "Son of the Morning" (before it explodes into shards of frosty Norwegian melodies, that is); the demented chamber music vibe of "Goddess Flesh"; the occasional flourish of processed electronic noise and percussion; the naked women in the CD booklet; the convincing, devout Satanist lyrics, and you get... um, well, a delirious, occasionally downright frightening, mishmash of metals, sometimes resembling Nile or Morbid Angel or Emperor or the kitchen sink, to the point where you're going to say it reminds you of both everything and nothing you've ever heard before. Akercocke is ambitious, to say the least, Choronzon nudging a few metallic boundaries into uncharted waters, despite a few questionable production choices (the full-on death metal blasts sound disappointingly thin, and the "brutal" vocals resemble a constipated gorilla), but consistently poking at the listener's cerebral cortex with its dizzying technicality. Sure, you'll be intoxicated on the fumes generated by all that gear-shifting, but the swirling mélange of sights, sounds, and smells Akercocke kicks up is often entertaining and artistically credible, both at the same time.