Five years since their debut release, 2015 sees the 2nd album of The Order of Apollyon eventually rear its gnarly head. After a huge upheaval in line-up (co-founder Dan Wilding is now with Carcass, former Akercocke man Peter Benjamin has gone, as has ex-Cradle of Filth guitarist James McKilroy), the band is now the brainchild of BST (Aosoth, ex-Aborted) and his new line up of seasoned musicians who feature in various French sources of extremity such as Temple of Baal and Livarkahil.
Personally, I was left cold by the band’s debut release, but the changes in line up seems to have lit a fire under the band for ‘The Sword and The Dagger’, and helped them produce a bucket load of extra venom to add to their powerfully satanic stance. Opening with ‘Own The Youth’ a symphonic intro of choirs and threatening intent, it certainly doesn’t prepare you for ‘Hatred Over Will’, which smashes your teeth down your throat without a second glance. Choppy, fast changing riffage, bellowed roars, disharmony and a torrent of bass and drumming all hitting home with raging force – I can hear the old school Morbid Angel striving to shine through, particularly with the melodic Rutan-eqsue soloing which appears toward the end of the track. The production is of a high quality, which allows each instrument to shine through – particularly the guitars which are pretty clinical throughout, but with enough bite not to be completely sterile.
The pounding riffage and melodic soloing are the main features of the band’s repertoire, with ‘Our Flowers are The Sword and The Dagger’ being my personal favourite of their tracks. It features the best of what they can do with their immeasurably hostile riffage, as well as a solid dose of their ability to shape-shift into something more calculating and cold at the drop of a hat. Eastern flavours follow in ‘Al’ankabout’, before sweeping into a crushing double bass drum fuelled corridor of hate, whilst ‘Hold Not Thy Peace…’ bubbles with visceral intent and jangling discordancy.
‘The Curse Is Poured Upon Them’ features the most blackened vibe on the album, with a wraithlike riff that could’ve been taken from an early Darkthrone album, had it not have been backed with a blasting Nile-like attack towards the death. The remainder of the album is made up of a calming instrumental track (‘By Your Command, We Return To Dust), a slice of creeping intimidation (‘Eight Pillars’), slow pouring darkness (The Hand That Becomes Weak) and the epic album closer ‘Omnis Honor Et Gloria’ which once again pulls together all corners of the band’s sound and ties them nicely together.
All in all, I was much more impressed by ‘The Sword and The Dagger’ than I was by their debut album ‘The Flesh’. The band seems to have grown in stature, and with the influx of new blood behind the majority of the instruments, it just seems to gel a lot better this time around. Far less fractured, and more of a unit these days – The Order of Apollyon are growing into a beast – well worth investigating.
(7.5/10 Lars Christiansen)
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