Reviews: Katatonia, Aexylium, Acts Of Vengeance, Shrouded In Darkness (Matt Bladen)

Katatonia - Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State (Napalm Records)

With co-founding member Anders Nyström having left the band before the recording of this thirteenth, album there could be an argument for a massive shift in what Katatonia do but, I'd say over the last few years Katatonia have been moving more towards the vision for the band that singer Jonas Renkse has in mind, any seismic shift towards an new style is not going to happen.

The death/doom of their early days has been eroding since 2009's Night Is The New Day, their transition into an atmospheric, gothic, post/prog band has really been on the front foot from City Burials, fully furnished by 2023's Sky Void Of Stars, it's seen them gain a bigger audience than perhaps they could've had they stayed with their earlier style. But then what do I know!

As it stands they continue in this more progressive style on Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State, Renkse writing what is the most personal album for him to date, he traverses his own mind and feelings to create vivid soundscapes that features moments of haunting introspection and cathartic beauty. Renske's voice is captivating, carrying the full spectrum of emotion of this record.

At the same time powerful and vulnerable his dystopian visions and dreamscapes brought to life by bassist Niklas Sandin, drummer Daniel Moilanen, and guitarists Nico Elgstrand/Sebastian Svalland. The swathes of keys creating the unearthly melodies on the anthemic Liquid Eye and on the powerful Thrice where those heavy moments creep in too.

The meditative Departure Trails is awash with sullen synths and clean guitar moments while The Light Which I Bleed has a propulsive groove that brings impact without the deafening volume. The band flex their progressive wings with the grooving Lilac and Warden, while they haven't fully betrayed their doom roots with a tracks such as Wind Of No Change.

For many bands, shifts in the writing section can really affect their overall sound. For Katatonia though it's a case of business as usual but business is very good. 9/10

Aexylium – Myth Of Mankind (Rockshots Records)

Having been folking about since 2014, Italian’s Aexylium release their third album Myth Of Mankind and if you’re a fan of folk metal with multiple members then you’ll be in your element here. I’m talking about bands such as Eluveitie and Korpiklaani where flutes, keys and violins are just as important as guitars and growls. 

Tracks such as Hexe showcase Aexylium’s sound better than anything, dual female/male vocals, modern metal riffage, galloping drums and then those traditional violins and flutes, it’s the sound of band who have hit their niche, the culmination of their previous two records, combining the two sides of their sound well on every song.

Bringing not just consistency to their symphonic folk metal style but also displaying their skillset as a nine piece band. Since their last album they have added drummer Alberto Mezzanotte, guitarist Luca Perrone and new frontman Sam Biganzoli all making an impact on this third release. In Sorrow takes them towards symphonic metal while Wild Hunt adds some potency and drama to Myth Of Mankind. 

The Italian’s have a very fertile metal scene that spans pretty much every genres, so a folk metal band that sing about Norse mythology shouldn’t be a surprise, however if you didn’t know you’d swear Aexylium were Scandinavian and that my friends is a heck of a trick. 7/10

Acts Of Vengeance - Thy Kingdom Come (Self Released)

A bit of Hertfordshire heavy metal from thrash/death metal band Acts Of Vengeance, Thy Kingdom Come is their latest EP of four aggressive tracks that lean heavily on the late 90’s style of deathy thrash.

They cite influences such as Slayer, Carcass and Sepultura and you can hear all of these on Thy Kingdom Come, from the grooves on Gods Of War and the title track, to the blistering speed on Idolatry, the new four piece line up trialled these songs on the road to make sure that when they recorded them they were as lethal as they could be.

Lethal enough that the band recently got through to the Hitchin M2TM Semi Final, and while they didn’t get to the final, the music on this record will see them once again take to the stage with some savagery. Thy Kingdom Come takes mainly from death metal in the snarling vocals and biting guitar riffs, but that thrash chug also makes thing a bit more varied. 

Acts Of Vengeance have done well to refresh their setlist with these new songs, they all show evolution and that Acts Of Vengeance have bags of potential on the UK scene. 7/10

Shrouded In Darkness - 11:11 (Black Vulture Records)

Organ drenched doom from Sweden in the ghostly apparition of Shrouded In Darkness, a trio made up of Daniel T (vocals/keys), Reese (guitars) and Mike (bass/drums), now how and if this will work live I don’t know but on record at least Shrouded In Darkness have all the elements of doom that I like. 

It's slow, but with blasts, long heavy riffs and growled vocals all augmented by huge atmospheric keys and on Cruel Winds additional vocals from Camilla Tjernberg, though guitar fans should check out Dreams which has a melodic middle section. 

Like Pantheist, the organs are prominent but for me there’s not a huge variation in how their used, I’d like to hear some different keyboard textures on these tracks as 11:11 starts out gothic and stays gothic. I’d say the crowning moment of the piece is the brooding The Lurking Devil as it’s got a huge sound the Shrouded In Darkness are aiming for. 

11:11 is a solid slab of doom as the third part of the Shrouded In Darkness album cycle. 7/10