A Post-death/Experimental Death Metal (Melodic Death/Groove/Metalcore) band from the UK. January 12th, 2023 the band released their second EP album Post Death1, which would gratify Arch Enemy, The Haunted, and Soilwork fans. The EP was released through the band’s self-owned label Dwarrowdelf Records.
Introduction:
Acherontia Styx, Post Death: This review will evaluate every aspect of the album, from its intricate musical composition to its production. Our analysis will provide valuable insights to help you determine if this album is worth adding to your collection.
The First Three Sins of Post Death
Let’s start by discussing the first three sins of Acherontia Styx and their album, Post Death.
The First Sin, The Strings/Keys: Consists of alternating between shredding, heavy, blackened and dissonant sections of guitar work, with pulsing bass riffs. The Second Sin, The Vocals: Involves balls to walls of extreme vocals. The Third Sin—The Percussions: Delves into the vast world of full-throttle rhythmic aural battering and beats.
The Fourth Sin: Overall Discussion: Wrapped in a magical and horrific fruitiness, pushing the boundaries creatively
As soon as the listener presses that play button, Post Death provides the listener with three raunchy songs, Cloud Of War, Shame, Shards Of Sanity, and Goddess Of Sin.
Providing the listener’s ears with music (each song is full-life, doesn’t sound the same, an identity of their own) that shifts violently from traditional death and black metal arrangements, into groove-based shred and psychedelic synth patterns. With a shared focus on emotional and dramatic structures, depths of hedonism and decadence, synthesized metallic assault. Dreamy psychedelia meets psychotic metal, dynamic and diverse influences of Arch Enemy, The Haunted, Soilwork, Testatment, and Lamb Of God that’s all wrapped in a magical and horrific fruitiness of pushing the boundaries creatively.
“Wrought from driving emotions of the pandemic, where the lockdowns focused emotions and self-analysis into a shard of obsidian that cut into the very core. Acherontia Styx has taken flight once again to reign as Emperor of Nightmares over the crumbling ruins of civilization.” [Acherontia Styx]
At the same time, Post Death is delivered and provided by impressive and skilled (all wrapped professionally, like a faux sow suit) devilmanship. Consisting of fast adrenaline of guitar artistry of melodic/progressive (shredding/rhythmic assault) riffage with brutality and technical, ferocious attitude of catchy (pulsing groove) melodies/rhythms, pulsing bass riffs, and rhythmic battering drum strikes and catchy beats.
In contrast, the vocal work consists of pure deathly-guttural growls, blackened howls, and all mentioned above – (again) all wrapped in a magical and horrific-fruitiness atmosphere and musical spectrum.
“Music is art and art should know no boundaries.” “Acherontia Styx” shows this within their songs and music while remaining “committed to writing and releasing from the heart, refusing to be tied down by genre tropes and blending broad influences using metal as a common ground”.
Post Death and Shadow & Flame are cold, brutal, spine and neck-breaker. And a must for fans of groove, melodic/modern, or old-school death metal – let your speakers spread out like the wings of a moth – and blast both releases back to back and continuously.
The album comes to an end with the last song, Goddess of Sin. We want to give a shoutout to Acherontia Styx for letting us review their album, Post Death. Now, we’re going to wrap it up by talking about the final three sins and concluding the review.
You’re Listening to “Cloud Of War”
PlayThe last Three Sins
Let’s discuss the last three sins, our thoughts on Acherontia Styx and their album, Post Death.
The Fifth Sin, The Memorabilia: Is that for us, Again, it has to be the whole EP, the devilmanship, instrumental and vocal artistry, writing from the heart, all with teamwork (working together) devilmanship!
The Sixth Sin, The Artwork:
The EP title Post Death has multiple meanings to the band. The album art is a macro photo taken by Grant’s son. It’s an extreme close-up of a rotten fence post, which adds a meaning to the term “Post Death” [Acherontia Styx] seer who predicts the future of humankind and the inevitable collapse of human life.
The Seventh Sin, Disrelish:
Nothing to disrelish within the musical spectrum of Acherontia Styx, and their single, Post Death.
This concludes the Acherontia Styx, Post Death.
Track-Listing:
- Cloud Of War
- Shame
- Shards of Sanity
- Goddess of Sin
Acherontia Styx is:
- Grant “Ron Bassman” Crossan – lead vocals, bass
- Paul “Dinenthal” Taylor – guitar, vocals, bass, keys
- Jake Burden-Stokoe – drums
- Adam Ashbridge – guitars, lead guitars, production
- With this feeling of picking up where “Shadow & Flame” left off… — or a continuation to their full-length debut? ↩︎
