Akercocke - Antichrist (2007)

I enjoyed Akercocke's return in 2017 with Renaissance in Extremis quite a lot, and I have raved with their side project The Antichrist Imperium (and especially their latest album Volume III: Satan in His Original Glory) more than most albums of the current decade, it's that awesome. Looking at the works of these guys for the last 25 years, one may think they are the most evil satanists on the planet. 

Yet, at the time of release of Antichrist, the band was shortly featured on BBC after it caught the attention of conservative Ireland due to an upcoming live show there, which you can watch here. Apart from the sound delay that damages communication between the musicians and the panel, which just adds to the overall situation, the back and forth argumentation is one as old as time. 

In lovely English accent, Akercocke explain that the fans love them and that they never meant to offend, instead they believe in freedom of speech and are against "censorship on any level" with a lot of key words thrown around without considering their magnitude.

I'd rather not talk too much about the specific album itself, this is incredibly forward thinking, unique and well delivered death metal that is instantly recognizable, and in my book this is the only band that has treated clean vocals fairly. They wouldn't top Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone from 2005 but no one can, yet Antichrist's quality shines.

More importantly, their stance in that video is simply disappointing, and so banal that it makes me wonder if these guys actually comprehend aspects they talk about, or is it all just teenage wondering angst without any actual maturity.

Akercocke clearly seeks to offend with edgy titles and lyrics, and playing dumb when Christian communities are offended by their material. You're turning your back on your work when you play the neutrality card, avoiding to stand by your own statements by adopting the safest, most superficial approach possible. Everything they said in that video is textbook pseudo-intellect.

Here is a snippet of another interview they did (available in full):

We also wanted to reflect the lyrical content in the imagery, hence a lot of the rather attractive young ladies that featured heavily in the Robert Nye version of Faust from where the band name came... and let's be honest, the ever-present sexism that is implicit in most heavy metal! Sex sells. So, we used it to sell. We weren't as sexy as the girls, haha!

Some other responses there also paint the picture of, well, essentially what being a poser actually looks like.

Man, these dudes may be even worse than Behemoth in that topic. Once you dare to take a step towards this anti-religious, blasphemous content, learn to support it when someone puts you in the spotlight. Or else, don't do it at all. Spooky covers, titles and lyrics don't scare anyone here.

Once again relevant: