It looks like they learned something from Fleshgod Apocalypse. Placing your classically trained female fighter up front and straight into action pays, doesn’t it? It led to great things for the aforementioned band on this zine. But how did Aexylium fare with their newest piece Myth of Mankind?
This band appeared on our list of reviews since it hit the metal road with Tales from this Land, after all. If anything, they’ve grown in metal power and coherence ever since. So, what’s it going to be this time? Ancient myths or a metallic history lesson. Let’s see what shakes first.
One thing is clear. If anything, Myth of Mankind increased in power once again, and gone are the folksier urges this band had before. This here piece is louder and way more in everybody’s face than its predecessors. You get a rapid-fire changes of Folk Metal morphing into Melodic Death Metal, and some blackened fare baked into a somewhat bricked and overloaded production. And what else is new, one has to keep that massive 9-piece collective occupied and energized. Interestingly, the pirate streak is all but gone, so no navigating anymore in strange seas. Or at least not too much, there are some leftovers for your listening pleasure (Surrender, for example). And good riddance, this whole pirate brat theme has been ridiculed to the point of no return by some of its worst supporting acts.
Instead, Aexylium here brings you new found power. And to get there, the band upped their amps in pretty much every aspect. The Melodic Death Metal and its sturdy yet typical riffing show some real bite now. You’ll also find a refreshingly vicious aggression in the vocal department. And that’s in large part thanks to new frontman Sam Biganzoli. But, this part of the production also sails a tad too close to where the aforementioned Fleshgod Apocalypse already find themselves in. Myth of Mankind also leans much farther into Folk Metal with sounds usually leaning into the paganized side of things. Meaning, the patterns found on this album showcase Eluveitie‘s hidden yet strong hand in some aspects of the songwriting process (The Queen, for instance).
Interestingly, Arianna Bellinaso garnered a much more prominent spot on this here album, and rightly so. A more metallic singing style found its way into the soundscape away from the more classically-tainted fare she proposed last time. And that’s not the first time we see that. Classical sopranos just work well in this disturbed, metal multiverse of ours, and they make for great metal vocalists. Speaking about styles, Biganzoli here sometimes ventures (a tad too) far into Black Metal’s realm without going there outright (Surrender). To the point that Hexe sounds like its very own idea of a Nymphetamine Fix. And that’s a pity in a way, because the Dani Filth copycat thing kinda destroys the fact that this definitely is the best track on Myth of Mankind.
Now, Aexylium‘s forte truly lies in the power of arrangement and making this huge collective fire on all pistons at once. This leads to well-balanced and somewhat free-flowing tracks that – for once – won’t put the guitars up front at all costs. Instead, violins and flutes will get much more credit. And rightly so. However, this also leads to a dime-a-dozen riffing quality with some short, albeit great solos thrown into the fray (Hexe, again). And this even if the axemen valiantly try to get more ahead in the mix by throwing bits of thrash and some Heavy Metal elements into their folk-driven tune.
Ultimately though, Myth of Mankind is a well-constructed Folk Metal piece with a pretty lusty drive to pull things along. On the downside, Aexylium tried a bit too hard to pick and choose elements that worked well with other bands and integrate them into their tune. And that lets a technically well-developed piece disintegrate into something that – somehow – we already heard. Said differently, if the old geezers over at the RMR review desk can easily pinpoint the influences, there’s work to do. And that means for this here band to find their very own trademark sound. Lest they turn into a myth all by themselves all of a sudden.
Just sayin’.