ALBUM REVIEW: Through My Darkest Infernal – Akani

One of metal’s most overlooked supergroups have collaborated and have created their first full-length debut album, Through My Darkest Infernal. AKANI is a collective of metal masterminds, featuring singer Jorge Rosado of MERAUDER fame, DEAD REPRISES drummer Anders Löwgren, PATH OF NO RETURN guitarist Daniel Cederborg and Daniel Antonsson of AT THE GATES on bass guitar duty. Through My Darkest Infernal sees an enchanting essence of hardcore and heavy metal, captured between New York and Gothenburg, Sweden. Within its 14 tracks, AKANI have marked their name on the heavy metal map in fine style, with a crushingly memorable debut.

A sample of a speech and the repeated ringing of a chord is how Ghetto starts. The elongated crescendo ascends into a Way Of The Fist era FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH staccato riff and pile-driving shouting vocals, reminiscent of Ivan Moody. Ghetto instantly shows off the compelling riffs which AKANI possess. This is a formula which works in AKANI‘s favour throughout Through My Darkest Infernal.

I Won’t Run kicks off with a chugging guitar riff which although is similar to many hardcore riffs, the swagger behind it and the technicality of the drumming helps it become its own unique entity. One aspect which AKANI have perfected is giving a track a complete sense of life. It is what you would expect in a live setting, which shows how much effort and character AKANI have thrown into the album and they are not just going through the motions. This is a debut record which is ready to cause a huge impact.

The bounce effect during the entirety of Through My Darkest Infernal is unparalleled. Tracks such as Courage and Lost bombard through the speakers from start to finish, giving minimal respite time whilst getting drawn into the heaviness of the music. Title track Through My Darkest Infernal offers an alternative sound to the eight tracks prior. It is atmospheric, with an acoustic guitar motif and an alluring string section filling up the two and a half minutes of the track. The instrumental break is full of warmth and would not fit out of place on a blockbuster soundtrack.

In the finest fashion, AKANI steam through with ruthlessness, most notably in Shango. It can only be described as MACHINE HEAD colliding with ENTOMBED in a bloodthirsty battle of brutality. Pure and Free is another example of AKANI displaying their diverse nature with a throat singing-esque intro, which then transcends into a frenzy of run-of-the-mill, formulaic heavy metal.

AKANI have done themselves proud with Through My Darkest Infernal. The amalgamation of the band members with their varying styles has come together to make a cohesive hardcore album. The album is full of mostly memorable tracks which will resonate well in a live format. Some of the tracks towards the back end of the album are slightly pedestrian, however the first half particularly of Through My Darkest Infernal more than makes up for it with its continual monumental start.

AKANI can only make bigger moves from here and Through My Darkest Infernal has laid the foundation down for the band to potentially make colossal moves in the future.

Rating: 7/10

Through My Darkest Infernal is set for release on July 15th via Demons Run Amok Entertainment.

Like AKANI on Facebook.