Akhlys – House of the Black Geminus

Band: Akhlys
Album: House of the Black Geminus
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
Release date: July 5, 2024
Country: The United States
Format reviewed: High Quality Digital Recording

In terms of black metal innovation, there are few band who do it better than Akhlys. Ever since their formation back in 2009 they have been serving incredible releases, both in the style of black metal and, on their debut album, dark ambient. Their latest effort, House of the Black Geminus is without a doubt a testament to the band’s creative vision, featuring unique avant-garde elements that truly make it stand out. The album cover is also unique, breaking the band’s tradition of using sinister hag faces as album covers, this time including a ghost-like figure floating in what appears to be a dark void. The almost dreamy feel of the album artwork is certainly present all throughout the music, thus offering House of the Black Geminus a truly authentic feel. The album includes 6 tracks, all of which are on the lengthier side. This allows for all the musical aspects to develop in a balanced way, showcasing the band’s songwriting abilities.

The album starts out with “The Mask of Night-Speaking”, a seemingly doomy track in its initial stages, set on a backdrop of faint dark electronic music, before going into one hell of a build-up, that explodes into an absolutely, not doom-like, straight up crushing melody accompanied by blast beats that do little to pick up the pace of the song, instead pushing it further and further into the abyss. Or, at least, so it seems. Out of goddamn nowhere, the song suddenly goes into high speed, screechy black metal, grabbing the listener’s attention once more, while the ambient electronic elements carry out the oppressive atmosphere in the background. The song continues to alternate between these two rhythms throughout its course, inducing both anticipation for what’s to come, and an overwhelming anxiety.

“Maze of Phoboetor” skips any pleasantries that might have been present on its predecessor, instead exposing the listener to a chaotic “wall of sound” that oozes anxiety, drama and disorder. At times, this musical onslaught stops, the song being driven only by a riff and the ambient background, before taking over once again, in the most unrelenting fashion. Even when the tempo slows down, the power of the music remains utterly unchanged. If you want nothing short of pure intensity, look no further.

Reaching the the half of the album we find “Through the Abyssal Door”, and here is where the darkness of the album reaches a whole new level. The deeper you go into this album, the bleaker and more oppressive it becomes. “Through the Abyssal Door” starts out in a doomy faishon similar to the debut track, creating a strong contrast with “Maze of Phoboetor”. It is much less chaotic, focusing more on the bleak, almost paranoia inducing aspects of the music. I have lost count of the times when this album made me feel utterly claustrophobic. This is further amplified by the slow tempo of the song and the riffs that carry a hint of sadness with them, that I hadn’t noticed previously, an element that makes the album feel almost psychological, in a sense. Despite its occult, metaphysical themes, House of the Black Geminus is almost a reflection on the darkest aspects of the human psyche, at least in my opinion, and I find that to be particularly important, as it makes the album feel painfully relatable at times, this song being one of those times.

Everything takes an abrupt turn with the fourth track, “Black Geminus”. This time, the black metal elements are completely stripped away, leaving behind an eerie ambient track. Don’t let that deceive you, however. Although the more intense elements are gone, the atmosphere remains unchanged. The closest thing I can imagine to this song is drowning in a really calm lake or the sea, at night, with no chance of escaping. You’re stuck in a dark, bleak void on bone chilling ambience. It’s cool to see what a simple passage like this can do to the mind of the listener. It leaves you with no idea of what to expect.

“Sister Silence, Brother Sleep”, the first single released from this album, is what I can describe as its defining track. Elements from all throughout the record can be heard in it, from the chaos of “Maze of Phoboetor”, to the uncertainty of “The Mask of Night-Speaking” and to the anxiety of “Through the Abyssal Door”, yet it still has its own unique takes on this aspects, featuring a slightly more traditional song structure, a mid-tempo for the majority of the piece, and, overall, the beginning of the album’s conclusion. If you aren’t sure whether this album might be your thing or not, I suggest listening to this track in particular, and making a decision based on your opinion of it (although, how can you not like it, it’s great!).

The album end with “Eye of the Daemon – Daemon I”, offering a conclusion to the tenebrous journey travelled so far, while also leaving you wonder what’s next. The uncerntainty that gets the listener caught in the webs of “The Black Geminus” is once again present, creating a sort of suspense, as if the end is merely the beginning of something else, lurking even deeper into the void. The melancholy is once again present within the riffs, giving the vocals an almost mournful feel. This song captures the thing I love the most about this record: its undoubted ability to play with the listener’s mind. I can’t recall the last time an album did this to me, and I am damn sure I’m not the only one who felt this.

In any way you look at it, Akhlys’s “House of the Black Geminus” oozes personality. Usually, I’m picky as hell when it comes to avant-garde black metal, as everything can go wrong in the span of a second, but THIS is experimentation done properly. This album kept me on the edge of my seat from its first note to its last, and when I think that I almost ignored it seems like utter idiocy on my behalf. If this doesn’t make the top 5 of 2024 black metal albums, then I don’t know what will. 10/10 by Ioanna

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10/10 Immortal Classic
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