Artist: Vincent Crowley
Country: USA
Label: Hammerheart Records
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2024
It feels rather pointless to write an introduction on the works of Vincent Crowley. Not only has the man a much discussed and rather notorious history in extreme metal, but most importantly his musical heritage with Acheron left a lasting mark on the Death Metal scene. It is true that Acheron has not always been met with praise or the same sense of understanding, just take a look at the reviews on several of the Acheron back catalogue. But the way Acheron was able to wield their rather simple riffs and put them into a dark and occult atmosphere has always intrigued me, with the ‘Satanic Victory’ EP always remaining my personal favourite.
Admittedly, not all of Acheron’s releases are equally good or essential, I always thought the band’s sound was rather unique and I admired the band’s persistence in keeping it true to the musical path that was chosen already at the late 80’s. That they were never able to catch the same level of ingenuity (or popularity) of peers like Morbid Angel or Nocturnus (in which Vincent Crowley lived his earliest musical steps), they, at least to me, made up with a good sense of sincerity. But it was not only the musical identity, of which the alleged simplicity of the music played a major part, that kept Acheron from world fame. Most likely Crowley’s restlessness in keeping the band together, including numerous line-up changes and show cancellations, didn’t help either.
When Acheron announced their (for now) final break-up in 2018, it didn’t take too long before Crowley launched his new band carrying his own name. Two years after, the debut album was released and was given the appropriate title ‘Beyond Acheron’. Although, as a whole, the album sounded like a proper and logical continuation of Acheron, it also displayed a completely other musical side of Crowley’s as the album combined elements from Heavy Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal and Death Metal.
Ah, well, completely different? Crowley never denied his love for “true” metal, regardless of styles. In 2003 Acheron released ‘Tribute To The Devil’s Music’ (Black Lotus Records), a compilation CD that contained covers from bands like Mercyful Fate, Black Sabbath and Venom, clearly paying homage to the foundations of (the darker genres of) Extreme Metal. In a way, ‘Beyond Acheron’ felt like a follow-up to that tribute, mashing up all of these touchstones into a bunch of new songs.
But, with all due respect, ‘Beyond Acheron’ didn’t feel like really like a cohesive effort, lacking a bit of glue to keep all parts together. Yet, the musical intent of the album clearly kept echoing, as the idea of getting all of these different elements together can work perfectly, as showcased over the last 15 or so years by Deceased. This new album, ‘Anthology Of Horror’, is definitely a step up to its preceding work, mostly in terms of a more consistent feeling and more accurate song writing. While there is still a substantial bit of looseness along the record, swinging it from more classic Doom Metal oriented songs to some genuine mournful My Dying Bride riffs and from chunky Death Metal riffs to splendid Heavy Metal melodicism. Yet, on ‘Horror Anthology’ things just feel more right, as if the pieces of the puzzle seem to fit a bit better. Okay, the glue in between the musical ideas are not always all that ingenious or equally effective, it does allow the listener to enjoy the album from A to Z without getting too confused. Let’s call it a nice bumpy rollercoaster ride, but one like a haunted attraction. Because as with the previously cited references, King Diamond and Deceased, Crowley immerses you in all kinds of classic horror stories and creepy myths on this new album too.
Just like I thought that Acheron never reached the level of praise I think it deserved, I don’t believe the band got a satisfying ending. With this new band Vincent Crowley seems to be determined to follow his calling, it might be a less Death Metal-oriented one, but I think that the more open-minded Acheron fans would be able to embrace this new endeavour – at least, and that is a real plus to me, Crowley kept his great and overly recognizable vocal style. And, who knows, who knows… Maybe he will reunite Acheron once again, just like Kiss, which I’m sure he had not coincidentally also included on ‘Tribute To The Devil’s Music’, never seems to die, even if they are coming back as holograms.
