Acrostichon – Engraved In Black
Acrostichon – Engraved In Black
Vic Records
Release Date: 28/03/24
Running Time: 1:09:07
Review by Dark Juan
10/10
Do you all remember all the way back to the beginning of when you started to follow the One True Path? How all music, no matter how poor, was fresh and exciting and everything was a voyage of discovery? So it was for Dark Juan, when he was but a young boy, already an outsider because he was considerably more intelligent than the rest of the denizens of his school, and because the likes of the Pet Shop Boys didn’t cut it for him musically, but the teenage Dark Juan had not yet been introduced to Metal. This changed when Paul Manning, my neighbour at the time, and fellow explorer of new music, traded a tape of Iron Maiden’s “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son” with me for my Pet Shop Boys “best of” compilation. This marked a sea change in the musical tastes of Dark Juan. My parents might have said that it was a considerable downfall as they had to put up with a teenager howling in his bedroom and trying his best to emulate the Air Raid Siren himself, Bruce Dickinson. Unaccountably, they said I was screamingly off-key all the time and that it sounded like I was being wounded. Believe it or not, they were delighted when I came home with Morbid Angel’s “Blessed Are The Sick” because I could actually do a passable interpretation of the David Vincent growl.
As it was, Morbid Angel were a landmark in the musical education of Dark Juan. Death Metal was where it was AT! I had the good fortune to grow up in the Morrisound era of DM and had Cannibal Corpse in their original glory before Chris Barnes turned into some kind of Death Metal muppet, vocally, and I was able to enjoy Bolt Thrower (‘Cenotaph’ is still required listening for Dark Juan, and ‘For Victory’ too) in all their pomp. Which led the hormone-driven teenager that was Dark Juan at the time to wonder, because we had the absolute QUEEN of Death Metal in Jo Bench on bass (a formative image in Dark Juan’s imagination – her combination of boots, black hair, and seemingly massive BC Rich Ironbird bass leaving a very lasting and unhealthy impression) with the Brit skullbashers, to explore which other ladies were playing Death Metal in the 90s.
It was not an extensive list.
In fact, the only other lass in a Death Metal band at the time was Corinne, the acid-growling beauty (I didn’t say this, I cribbed this from an ancient Metal Hammer live article) who handled bass and vocals for a Dutch Death Metal band called Acrostichon, which I have spent several decades pronouncing wrongly. They were formed all the way back in 1989. There is a point to this tide of gentle reminiscence, as the gore-splattered Platter of Splatter ™ has been dragged out of the abattoir and it has the latest release from the band upon it, being a re-release of the seminal 1993 album, “Engraved In Black”.
Now, I normally have very definite views about re-releases being a cynical cash grab, but what with the current financial situation of bands and how they are being vigorously fucked by all and sundry and are all struggling somewhat, I have suspended this judgement in favour of supporting them. It means bands can keep fucking operating, so I am having a full-on nostalgia trip and returning to the agog, slack-jawed teenager who marvelled at the intricacy and speed of Death Metal, and the brutality of the roaring vocalists. I believe I had a copy of “Engraved In Black” on a shitty, half-dead TDK C-90 cassette tape, which got finished off in the tape deck of my first car. It was an absolute joy to listen to then, so imagine the excitement when this re-mastered example was proffered to Dark Juan reverently by Simon “None More” Black at Ever-Metal.com HQ.
To say it is a pleasure to hear this record as it was intended to be heard is nothing short of hyperbole. Corinne savagely barks, growls and spits vitriol, and the twin guitar attack of Richard Schouten and Jos van den Brand is a joy to hear clearly at last, as is the super technical drumming of Serge Smolders. Rather than it being a confused, drawn-out buzz as 1980s in-car entertainment technology couldn’t cope with the speed and heaviness.
Acrostichon were always a little more cerebral and considerably more European than the sound of say, Deicide, and this shows in the music – even when the band are hitting lightspeed velocity there is space for the music to breathe without compromising the power. This is transposed on several occasions by slow breakdowns, probably to give the drummer’s legs a rest as his double-bass drumming just does not stop. Broken, fractured guitar solos with lashings of whammy bar dives and fragmented, dangerous-sounding shredding also add considerable aural interest as a lot of Metal bands today have eschewed the solo as pointless. However, Dark Juan disagrees because guitar soloists are fucking heroes, especially in Death Metal bands because they must keep up with the rest of the mad bastards trying to fracture the space-time continuum with sheer speed.
‘Relics’ is a standout track on this album, a wailing twin-guitar line giving way to (predictably) insane speed and power and blastbeats. Blastbeats for days. It is a fucking neck-breaker of a song, even if it is mid-tempo for a Death Metal band. The violence just does not let up on “Engraved In Black”, even when it is tempered by moments of musicality… The guitar sound of both players is absolutely fucking perfect, being crunchy without being too bottom heavy, and there’s a fuckton of pinch harmonics to enjoy as well. Corinne’s bass playing is also tighter than the arses of an armada of aquatic birds and has a clean, accessible sound that cuts sharply through the distortion of the guitars.
The drums, though. The fucking DRUMS. The production of Colin Richardson (Bolt Thrower, Carcass, Cradle Of Filth among many others) is absolutely masterful. The drums are perfectly placed in the mix, never overpower the rest of the band, and remain easily listenable even when lightspeed is being achieved! The metalwork is also fucking perfectly produced. The cymbals are sharp and penetrating, slicing surgically through everything else but never being in your face or too far to the front of the mix.
As well as being a re-issue of a 1993 album (and indeed Acrostichon’s debut long player), there are six live bonus tracks on this album, of songs that were released on the follow up to “Engraved In Black”, “Sentenced” – an album never to be re-released according to the blurb. The live recordings are also pretty fucking well produced, again the whole band is easily discernible, although Corinne struggles a little bit on ‘Forgotten’, changing from the insane and psychologically damaged roaring she normally employs in favour of a throat-straining bit of shouting. Yet again the drum sound is fucking incredible, especially on a live recording. This record is worth the money just for the live tracks, let alone a stone-cold classic Death Metal debut. ‘Monsters’ adds a little bit of levity to the proceedings with an almost waltz-time feel and jolly bassline to start the song off and it being almost like Primus playing Death Metal at times…
The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System (Het gepatenteerde Dark Juan-bloedspattenbeoordelingssysteem, voor al mijn geweldige Nederlandse vrienden. Kunnen jullie allemaal vriendelijk aan Max Verstappen vragen om te stoppen met het winnen van alles in de Formule 1, zodat ik het nog een keer kan bekijken? Erg bedankt…) has been transported back to his bedroom in Radcliffe in 1994, red Charvel guitar in hand and trying desperately to keep up with the band and failing miserably and awards Acrostichon 10/10 for a formative record for Dark Juan’s listening when he was but a boy, and some absolutely fucking peachy live recordings which make this a splendid value for money purchase, especially with a running time of well over an hour. Absolutely essential listening for the Death Metal aficionado.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Immolation Of The Agnostic
02. Walker Of Worlds
03. Dehumanized
04. Mentally Deficient
05. Lost Remembrance
06. Zombies
07. Havoc
08. Relics
09. Engraved in Black
10. Forgotten (live)
11. Snapshot (live)
12. Monsters (live)
13. Murder (live)
14. Victims (live)
15. Pain (live)
LINE-UP:
Richard Schouten – Guitars
Jos van den Brand – Guitars
Corinne van den Brand – Bass, vocals
Serge Smolders – Drums
LINKS:
(I have tried to find other social media links but it appears the band only have a Facebook page…)
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Dark Juan and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
