The German death/ black metal band Akrival released a new album: Vitriolic. It only took them fourteen years to finally release this second album after lots of demos and their first album Enigmas of the Contradictory Nature (2004). They compare themselves, among others, with Abigor. Why I don’t agree with that? Read on!

When listening Vitriolic for the second time I’m already completely drained during the third track 'Lost Man’s Domain'. It’s as if you have no choice but to listen: the blast beats never seem to end. The tracks are arranged in such an odd matter, I suspect it took Akrival fourteen years to come up with small parts which they compiled just like that to a whole and gave it names so it would be recognizable as tracks. This fragmented style makes the music a bit chaotic, hence my tiredness. Every moment of silence in between songs feels like a big relief.

It’s a shame really, because I do sense a lot of potential in this band. The part I pity most is that Akrival is so terribly busy with being technical and aggressive; they forget there's such a thing as atmosphere. The lack of atmosphere makes it obvious to me that there’s no way you can compare Akrival with one of my favourites: Abigor. Besides that off comparison, it’s exactly the atmosphere that’s crucial for this band to catch the attention they deserve. Maybe they can try again in another fourteen years?