AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: AKHENATEN — “HALLS OF AMENTI”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Apr 302021
 

 

Today is the day when Satanath Records (Russia) and Dark Terror Temple (Mexico) will release The Emerald Tablets Of Thoth, the latest album by the US band Akhenaten, whose amalgamation of death and black metal with Eastern melodies and traditional Middle Eastern instrumentation has already proven to be an alluring combination.

The new album — the fourth full-length in Akhenaten’s discography and the first since 2018’s well-received Golden Serpent God — focuses on the themes surrounding the mysteries of the Emerald Tablets and the teachings of Thoth the Atlantean, and it carries forward the collaboration between Colorado-based brothers Jerred and Wyatt Houseman, who also join forces in the symphonic black metal band Helleborus.

Later today you will have the opportunity to listen to the entirety of the new album, but for now we bring you the premiere of a lyric video for the second track in the running order — “Halls of Amenti“. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: AKHENATEN — “AMULETS OF SMOKE AND FIRE”

 Premieres  7 Responses »
Aug 192018
 

 

In the run-up to the release of Akhenaten’s third album, Golden Serpent God, earlier this year, we had the pleasure of premiering a video for “Erishkigal: Kingdom of Death“, and now we get to bring you another video for another track off this excellent album: “Amulets of Smoke and Fire“.

For those of you who haven’t already discovered the record, the Colorado brothers Wyatt and Jerred Houseman who stand behind Akhenaten drew inspiration from the mythology and mysticism of ancient Mesopotamia, interweaving exotic melodies into a framework of powerful blackened death metal, accenting the album’s 11 formidable tracks with such instruments as Turkish Saz, Oud, Persian Santoor, Duduk, Kalimba, Handpans, and Sitar. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: AKHENATEN — “ERISHKIGAL: KINGDOM OF DEATH”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
May 162018
 

 

We’ve devoted significant attention over the years to the musical creations of Wyatt and Jerred Houseman through their band Helleborus, but the brothers Houseman have another project named Akhenaten, and it’s Akhenaten that’s the subject of the following premiere.

Through this project, the Housemans have drawn inspiration from the mythology and mysticism of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, interweaving exotic melodies into a framework of blackened death metal. The new Akhenaten album, Golden Serpent God, revisits these ancient deities and occult mysteries over the course of 11 tracks, and the one we bring you today in advance of the album’s May 31 release by the triumvirate of Satanath Records (Russia), Cimmerian Shade Recordings (USA), and Murdher Records (Italy) is named for the Mesopotamian goddess Erishkigal, queen of the underworld Irkalla and sister to Inanna, the goddess of heaven, whom she destroys (at least temporarily). Continue reading »

KEVINP’S ALBUMS OF THE MONTH — DECEMBER 2015

 Album Reviews, Listmania  15 Responses »
Dec 172015
 

Akhenaten - Incantations Through the Gates of Irkalla

 

(Here’s the last of KevinP’s monthly selections for 2015, naming his Top 5 favorite albums released or scheduled for release during December.)

Since I’ve had plenty of time with this month’s releases to formulate my list, along with the fact that things start to get slow once Xmas week arrives, you’re getting this a little earlier than normal.  Also, my Top 25 Albums and Top 5 EP’s of the Year will be posted the first week of January.  Nothing else profound to say, so let’s get on with it. Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: WYATT H. (HELLEBORUS AND AKHENATEN)

 Interviews  No Responses »
Jun 052015
 

 

(KevinP brings us another short-but-sweet interview, this time with Wyatt H. of the Colorado bands Akhenaten and Helleborus — whose new song “Coils” we premiered earlier this year (here) with a free download.)

K:   So how does one go from brutal death metal [Execration] to Mesopotamian and psychedelic black metal?

W:  Helleborus and Akhenaten were in development during our time spent with Execration. Jerred  had already started developing sounds for what would be Akhenaten in 2010. Around the time I was asked to join Execration, we were already experimenting with the elements of Black Metal before we had formed a solid project. Execration already had two releases when I started rehearsing with them. The nature of the music never fit with me but I enjoyed the chaos and energy behind it. Jerred and I tried our best to put our soul into the project with the last release The Acceptance of Zero Existence. Even though we had great success with the album, it brought light to me, that my brother and I were putting too much energy into something that wasn’t ours and of our true nature. Continue reading »