Akercocke – Rape Of The Bastard Nazarene (1999)

June 30, 2019

There is something just so inherently evil about Akercocke’s early work, particularly on the first two records. Perhaps its the air of elegance that the band bring to a genre that is often delivered with the subtly of a war hammer to the face, or perhaps its the smattering of terrifying noises and soundscapes that the band use to decorate their macabre, sexually-charged satanic hymns.

Rape… is a dirty, dismal maw, taking heavy inspiration from the equally-sordid recounting of the tale of Faust, by Robert Nye. I initially wanted to say that this album isn’t as progressive as later records, but coming back to it now after all these years, I see how very, very wrong I am. This is genius.