Acheron’s Kult Des Hasses and the Art of Being Evil

There’s a real particular art to being, you know, evil.

Acheron have been doing the darkness thing for over 20 years, plugging away at “Satanic/anti-religious anthems” (their words) since their 1992 debut Rites of the Black Mass.

It’s a (evil!) formula that works. And may explain why the band’s latest, Kult Des Hasses, sounds transported straight from the early, dark days of the 90s. Slayer, Death, early Cradle of Filth, even Sabbath peak into the songs, which have a bit more melodic flair — yes, yes, dark evil flair — than most modern Satan pushers.

But it’s nothing new — Kult is fine towing the Dark Lord line. “Jesus Wept (Again and Again)” centers on twisted visions of torturing Christ within dreams, because… why not. While properly monikered frontman Vincent Crowley keeps the requisite shrieks and growls in place, his bandmates speed up, slow down and begin to craft their own musical vision… one less about perceived evils than head-snappin’ grooves of all creeds and tempos.

Ignore the lyrics. You can and should — “she is the one who fulfills my desires! A lustful lady….” will not be your summer anthem. They give short shrift to trio’s willingness to let the music stretch and grow, often up to eight minutes at a time.

Evil: now in proggy thrash form.

Acheron’s Kult Des Hasses is out now on Listenable. You can stream the entire album here and purchase the album here.