Acheron Rebirth: Metamorphosing Into Godhood CD

Even more than a piece of music (bearing an especially grotesque piece of cover art, it must be said), Acheron's long-awaited fifth album, Rebirth: Metamorphosing into Godhood, reads like some sort of handbook for joining the official Church of Satan, which, in case you didn't know, sees each individual as a God unto himself -- hence this title. All this may be well and good, but frankly, even after a five-year layoff, Acheron's never-ending preaching via new tracks like "Church of One" and "Bow Before Me" takes mere moments to get under one's skin. So if one is to withstand the abuse, it's better to focus on their more esoteric incantations, numbers like "The Kindred" and "Golgotha's Truth" instead. Unfortunately, Acheron's particular blend of death and black metal is hardly revolutionary in terms of quality or content. If anything, its simplistic pacing and performance values are something of a throwback to the genre's mid-'90s stylings (nostalgic fans take note), when even satanic overkill such as this seemed more amusing than truly dangerous. At least we should hope so, lest Acheron frontman Vincent Crowley and his evil-eyed disciples with their goatees and shaven heads decide to pay us a visit in order to preach to us in the flesh. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

Acheron: Vincent Crowley (vocals, bass guitar); Kyle Severn (spoken vocals, drums); Michael Estes (guitar).

Additional personnel: Brianna Workman (background vocals).