The Faceless - Akeldama (2006)
“2006; 2006 is my year Bobby.”
2006 was one of the last years for what I deem the golden age of deathcore. This album was kind of the final bang for it. Further proof of its eventual commercialization and decline is the fact that The Faceless progressively moved away from deathcore with each album. Funny thing is this is their strongest effort by far. It’s in a whole other ballpark compared to everything else they've done. World Series winning music. The perfect balance between cohesive music and random, spastic guitar playing.
This album does so many things right and few things wrong. Most of the wrongs are so nitpick-y to where I have no reason to list them out. This album does noodling to perfection. It never feels out of place when they start sweeping or randomly changing song sections. Theres lots of inspiration for this album, and this is the only Faceless album where I feel they knew what they were wanting to do with every hint of inspiration they had. Every other album they have put out feels like a mess of ideas. Usually one or two good ones and an overwhelming amount of bad ones. There is a lot of really good riffs and sections on this album, and listing them out would be too exhausting for me. I could not really even pinpoint a song that specifically stands out. Every song holds up very well. This album ages like fine wine for me. Possibly due to how personally stagnant and bland most deathcore after this album is. Most of their albums afterwards seem to have the opposite effect on me; growing off of me. It is strange.
This is a great example to others that sometimes amazing music is full of inspiration. It doesn't always have to be something completely original or unique. Sometimes you have to stop believing that pioneers are the absolute pinnacle of their genre. Abandon nostalgia. Modern metal has very much stood up on its own, right next to the “big boys”. Sometimes music enthusiasts have to tread through a bunch of trash to find something of note. We should all be like Cleveland Cavaliers fans. Put up with decades of losing seasons just to experience winning against a team that blew a 3-1 lead. That’s the exact feeling I feel when I find an amazing album like this after spending many months going through a genre I find hit or miss to find something like this. Absolute wonder.
Deathcore definitely didn’t die after 2006, many things are hidden from view out there waiting for you to find it. A bang created the universe, essentially dawning a new era in the deathcore genre. You got to have fun with music, and sometimes take it seriously. After all; winning the World Series takes a lot of work. A lot of time and balance.
Rating: 9/10
