ALBUM OF THE DAY: THE FACELESS’ AKELDAMA
Before sitting down to listen to The Faceless’ Autotheism today, it would be prudent of us to take a look back at the band’s roots. In 2006, neither The Faceless nor Sumerian Records were the big names they are today. Listening to Akeldama now, it’s quite clear that the band’s first release was much more than just another techy deathcore release. On the contrary, Akeldama established for the band an unshakable foundation comprised of captivating science-fiction themes, mind-bending guitar skills, and aggressive metal and core hooks. It’s the same foundation that’s carried The Faceless through Planetary Duality in 2008 and on to Autotheism in 2012.
Akeldama was one of the first albums in the deathcore scene (an alien precursor, if you will?) to use science fiction themes for its lyrical material and keyboards for sci-fi atmosphere. The haunting synth patterns are far from the typically cheesy, uninvolved electronic snippets of other deathcore releases; more than mere background work, they often escalate to near symphonic levels. Sci-fi influenced death metal wasn’t as common just six years ago as it is now, but this early work is nonetheless a phenomenal example of it done right: Akeldama consistently conjures up clear mental images of distant planets and alien interactions.
Guitarist Michael Keene showcases his intriguing and fiercely technical style on Akeldama in addition to providing us with cohesive and interesting songwriting. Rapid time signature changes bounce between technical low-end riffs and drastically shifting upper-register shred work and finger-ripping solos. Rather than subtly weaving all the melodies through his shredding, Keene instead choses to somewhat separate the two, latching onto metalcore-esque breaks and hooks on tracks like “Leica” and the chorus of “Ghost of a Stranger.” The melodies have a distinct “fun chorus” feel to them, unlike the proggier melodic sections of The Faceless’s later work. And, like much of the rest of the riffs, they’re undeniably catchy. It’s not hard to listen to certain sections of every song over and over again, and you’d have to be deaf to ignore the grooves.
Other core-based elements, like the tempo downshifts and aberrant pinch harmonics, abound — but they add to the songs instead of bogging them down in the fog of breakdowns and laziness from which other deathcore artists suffer. It’s the creativity surrounding these elements that keeps them from entering the realm of drudgery and makes them downright enjoyable: the melodic metalcore breaks on songs like “All Dark Graves” would seem like out-of-place, cliché snooze-fests if not for how well they’re executed, demonstrated by the eerie background keys and the artistic kick patterns of drummers Andy Taylor, Brett Batdorf, Navene Koperweis, and Nick Pierce.
Although we’ll probably all be gushing over Autotheism for the forseeable future, we should not forget to revisit Akeldama, a work which is still stunningly compelling.
-DM
