Album Review: Autokrator – Persecution
Reviewed by Daniel Phipps
A deep bellowing guitar tone, thundering drums and a sense of pure raw evil greet your ear drums from the second you press play and De Gloria Martyrum Et Confessorum the opening track on Persecution, from Montpellier death metal act Autokrator. The tracks powerful death doom riffs lead into a furious relentless blackened death metal attack, which is just the start of what Autokrator have brought to the table.
Autokrator provide a rawness to their sound which can be very much lost by a lot of bands. The guitars muddy tone is used to perfection to create demonic riffs which power through the tracks with severe ferocity. That muddy sound also provides an uneasy atmosphere which you can feel during the bands slower doomier sections which have the sheer power to carry the tracks on their own, with the records second track The Great Persecution being a shining example of slow muddy riffing and pure power.
The vocals are low and powerful, effortlessly echo through each of Persecutions six stellar tracks which is highlighted by the 9 minute 49 second monster Antechristus, which has the feeling of an army advancing on its enemy chanting their battle cry before the slaughter begins. The second half of the track is a savage display of dark riffs and pounding blastbeats the advance has finished and Autokrator leave no survivors.
Persecution is a record designed to be listened to from start to finish. Each of the six tracks flowing seamlessly into another, you get no break from Autokrator and their attack. What I really enjoyed about Persecution was the no holds barred power, it gave me the same feeling I had when I first heard the Incantation classic Onward to Golgotha. Persecution is pre raw relentless death metal at its finest, it is an excellent record and one that any blackened death metal fan should take the time to seek out.
