Out Now
Apocalyptic Witchcraft Recordings
I came across the magnificent The Antichrist Imperium by complete accident in 2017. Seeing guitarist Matt Wilcock sporting the band’s debut album t-shirt whilst playing guitar for Abramelin at their reunion show, appearing at the still memorable Metal for Melbourne Fest at the Corner Hotel. It was the cover to The Antichrist Imperium’s debut self-titled album. Depictions of pure filth, smut and debauchery (unquestionably Metal V’s type!), I tried everything I could to get this t-shirt with no luck. But doing my research, enlarging photos I took at the gig to get a glimpse of who this band was, I discovered their magnificent malevolence and was instantly hooked.
The Antichrist Imperium are EVERYTHING I want from a metal band – PERIOD! Organised and explosive chaos, sheer hatred and calming purpose, avant-garde beauty and an overabundance of blasphemy. Satanic worshipping, smut driven and adorned magnificence, well (un)disguised as metal.
Who the fuck am I kidding, The Antichrist Imperium aren’t disguising shit! Their message is clearly visibly noticeable even before playing the first track. Which readers on their latest album titled Volume III – Satan in His Original Glory is seductively titled The Sweetest Juice and how oh so sweet it is. A grand nearly eight-minute introduction for their third album and a perfect way to bring any new fan or veteran sadistic skin juice devourer up to speed on The Antichrist Imperium’s post-covid mission statement.
For a band that is a bastard hybrid stepchild of many varying forms of other almost similar extreme bands (Werewolves, Akercocke, Abramelin, The Berzerker amongst others) and members dispersed across countries, the final product heard on Volume III is remarkable and should be revered. Often times I have found that when listening to bands that are hybrids or, half-arsed so-called supergroups that the sum of all their parts should be audiologically incredible, but I found them lacking the substance I expect. Maybe I expect too much, but listen to The Antichrist Imperium, you will hear nothing but sheer musical brilliance, Sam (vocals and keys), David (drum and vocals), Matt (guitars), and Samuel (vocals and keys) all contribute and provide a wealth of extreme metal knowledge and perfection on Volume III. But also, this diverse and bi-polar chaos that exudes from the demonic pores of The Antichrist Imperium may well be the reason you feel welcome schizophrenic type fits followed by forceful ejaculation of bodily secretions upon hearing their chaotic perfectly engineered sound.
This description surmises perfectly upon listening to tracks two and three, The Vilest of Beasts and Third Degree Baptism.
Volume III – Satan In His Original Glory, for all its metal innuendo and typical extreme metal imagery is a mature entry into the discography of The Antichrist Imperium, not to mention it is a near-perfect release. By no means is it an album destined to entertain the ears of the religious faithful minority or listeners content with straight-up extreme music. Volume III is an album full of sophisticated sounds for purveyors of metal, crossing the lines and boundaries of meaningless expectations of the dull horde.
Menage a Triumvirate is a blasting, noodly black / death masterpiece that encapsulates The Antichrist Imperium perfectly (well actually…the whole album does you idiot!) but the musical mood changes and personality shifts, growls and coherent vocals, discordant riffing and hypnotic drums, Menage a Triumvirate has a thirty dollar riff that fucking rules!
I think I’ve wanked on enough, excessively overworking in describing my thoughts as to the brilliance of not only The Antichrist Imperium as an entity, which includes their earlier albums, but this years Volume III – Satan In His Original Glory is EASILY in contention for my top five albums of 2022. Not for the faint of heart or tender of dispositions \m/ \m/
The Antichrist Imperium – Volume III: Satan In His Original Glory is out now via Apocalyptic Withcraft. Click HERE to grab your copy now
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