Album Of The Day-Akimbo-"Elephantine" (2005)

The Album Of The Day is "Elephantine" by Akimbo.



Review:

Seattle's Akimbo have always impressed me with their approach to a metal and hardcore fusion. There are tons of bands that play that “metalcore” stuff, and as much as I tend to hate the end result from most bands in the genre, these guys give me hope that someday the bullshit posing and pontificating of hardcore will drop completely off the face of the Earth.

Akimbo's latest, Elephantine, is an 11-track journey through a warped vortex of jagged knives and bloody throwing axes. Akimbo encompass all types of metal on this record, as their s t y l e has always dictated. There's some heavy shit, some fast shit, some really fast shit, some messed up mathy shit, and there's even some well placed Journey riffs for good measure. Every bit of Elephantine is killer. On "Delilah," the abrupt change from a Deadguy sounding beating to a classic Zeppelin/Raging Slab groove happens so smoothly, it appears to come naturally. I bet they can pull that kind of move off in their sleep. Some of these songs’ parts are so odd and their stylistic choices are so strange that I don't think they are capable of writing songs in 4/4 timing or could be loyal to any one musical theme.

Akimbo definitely have a great sense of humor, too, which sets them apart from bands like Coalesce and Botch. It's not an obvious funny, like Ween - it's much more subtle. Although songs like "Bitten From The Thigh Of Zeus" and "I'm A Fucking Ice Giant" are quick-witted titles, the fire that burns through these tracks is no laughing matter.

This is some seriously spastic and heavy stuff, all over the place thematically. Check it out if you're into Dillinger Escape Plan, Kung Fu Rick, 7000 Dying Rats, Naked City, Spazz, and Cephallic Carnage. (Velcro Lewis, StonerRock.com)

Track Listing:

01. Golem
02. Delilah (MP3)
03. Bane of the Ancient Whales
04. Harpoon
05. Cavernous Black Eyes
06. Kiss the Sun
07. A Far Out Trip Through a Hard Rock Tunnel
08. Bitten from the Thigh of Zeus
09. The Art of Asphyxiation
10. Vassal of the Phallus Crown
11. I'm a Fucking Ice Giant

MySpace
Official Website

Purchase