Review by Benjamin on January 8, 2022.

I was unfamiliar with Aussie progressive metallers Aquilus prior to this month, their evidently well-regarded 2011 debut Griseus having passed me by a decade ago. However, it took only a few bars of the impeccably composed intro 'The Night Winds Of Avila' before I was intrigued to hear more, as the swells of classical strings wrapped themselves around the Rachmaninov-style piano runs, before the crunching down-tuned guitars of the first of a number of lengthy tracks signalled the collision of the band's progressive death / black metal with the classical arrangements that surround the band's music throughout. The tonality instantly reminds the listener of much-missed UK progressive types To-Mera, and the band share the cinematic approach of that band, albeit relying to a lesser extent on the metallic part of their complex and bewitching sound.

The 'symphonic' label is, of course, not especially unusual to encounter in the metal underground, even if it has long since passed through the phase in which it seemed a ubiquitous feature of black metal (although Stormkeep's new album may yet drive a resurgence of that particular style). Aquilus, however, are in a completely different category to bands such as Dimmu Borgir or Behemoth in their use of symphonic sounds. Rather than utilising strings and horns as an additional texture to adorn tracks that are primarily built around conventional metal instrumentation, it is, for the most part, the classical elements of the Aquilus sound that drive each track, the guitars and rhythm section often secondary to the enigmatic soundscapes put together by the band's mastermind Horace Roseqvist.

Occasionally, as on stand-out track 'The Silent Passing', raging tremolos and blasting drums emerge through the orchestration to briefly take centre stage. Just as quickly though, laidback acoustic guitars and woodwind lines again win the battle for supremacy, with atmosphere prioritised over aggression, as it is across much of this superb album. Bellum I (the first of two halves of what will be an epic proposition) is a majestic and grandiose achievement, which positions Aquilus firmly at the forefront of the classical / metal crossover, and will indubitably reveal new secrets with every listen.

Rating: 8.7 out of 10

Review by Felix on July 4, 2019.

Things can only get better after Acheron's terrible debut. It is always nice to know that one has overcome the lowest point. The band has made a big step forward. This does not automatically mean that Lex Talionis is the name of an indispensable classic of the black/death sub-genre. Far from it! To my great regret, Acheron still make a lot of mistakes that result in an ambivalent overall impression.

First of all, nine intros/outros are included. Fantastic stroke of genius! I guess they were meant to increase the atmosphere of the album but to be honest, these keyboard interludes do not reach the intended purpose. Instead, they hurt the flow of the album and prevent that the listener has the possibility to wallow continuously in the violent sonic orgies of Acheron. Under the bottom line, nine of 45 minutes are useless. 20 percent shit, this is a lot. But the band seems to be entangled in its own questionable concept. I would like to point out that already their first full-length suffered from a very similar arrangement. It is scant comfort to know that this was just one of approximately a million problems of the debut.

Anyway, the regular songs stand in the foreground. Acheron still play a dark form of death metal which is occasionally pepped up with black metal elements. The average velocity is low, the level of primitiveness is still high. Any kind of exceptional or bizarre elements remain out of consideration. However, the main problem is something quite different. Although the compositions reach an acceptable level, they do not capture the attraction of the listeners for more than ten minutes. Roughly speaking, all songs fail to develop a long-lasting impact. The strong verses of "The Entity" constitute the most promising part of the album, but its fairly flaccid chorus is slightly annoying. Nevertheless, this song has an appropriate dose of dynamism, inter alia because of the well accentuated double bass. Too bad that this remains an isolated case. Too many songs are defaced by comparatively lame parts and the compositional skills of the band are still not impressive. Some solos leave a fairly good impression, the sinister vocals are acceptable, but when looking at the big picture, Acheron still lack charisma. Not to mention their stupid lyrics. "The time has come to rid the earth of all its Christian filth"? Okay, I hope you feel well in your clinically clean world of Satan.

Due to whatever reason, the album of the US-Americans was recorded in Vienna. What is even more amazing is the fact that the Austrian production does not show any serious deficiencies. Well, it lacks an extra portion of heaviness in order to reveal the full potential of a slowly creeping piece like "Voices Within", which is actually not bad. But generally speaking, the sound can be described as dense, dark and well balanced. Compared with the dull, powerless and flat production of the debut, the here presented mix marks a noteworthy improvement.

Long story short, the concept sucks, some riffs sound stale and about half of the breaks are not managed in a very clever way. Nevertheless, this second attempt has its moments and the positive tendency cannot be ignored. All maniacs that like old-fashioned black metal can give Lex Talionis a try.

Rating: 5.6 out of 10

Review by Felix on July 4, 2019.

Things can only get better after Acheron's terrible debut. It is always nice to know that one has overcome the lowest point. The band has made a big step forward. This does not automatically mean that Lex Talionis is the name of an indispensable classic of the black/death sub-genre. Far from it! To my great regret, Acheron still make a lot of mistakes that result in an ambivalent overall impression.

First of all, nine intros/outros are included. Fantastic stroke of genius! I guess they were meant to increase the atmosphere of the album but to be honest, these keyboard interludes do not reach the intended purpose. Instead, they hurt the flow of the album and prevent that the listener has the possibility to wallow continuously in the violent sonic orgies of Acheron. Under the bottom line, nine of 45 minutes are useless. 20 percent shit, this is a lot. But the band seems to be entangled in its own questionable concept. I would like to point out that already their first full-length suffered from a very similar arrangement. It is scant comfort to know that this was just one of approximately a million problems of the debut.

Anyway, the regular songs stand in the foreground. Acheron still play a dark form of death metal which is occasionally pepped up with black metal elements. The average velocity is low, the level of primitiveness is still high. Any kind of exceptional or bizarre elements remain out of consideration. However, the main problem is something quite different. Although the compositions reach an acceptable level, they do not capture the attraction of the listeners for more than ten minutes. Roughly speaking, all songs fail to develop a long-lasting impact. The strong verses of "The Entity" constitute the most promising part of the album, but its fairly flaccid chorus is slightly annoying. Nevertheless, this song has an appropriate dose of dynamism, inter alia because of the well accentuated double bass. Too bad that this remains an isolated case. Too many songs are defaced by comparatively lame parts and the compositional skills of the band are still not impressive. Some solos leave a fairly good impression, the sinister vocals are acceptable, but when looking at the big picture, Acheron still lack charisma. Not to mention their stupid lyrics. "The time has come to rid the earth of all its Christian filth"? Okay, I hope you feel well in your clinically clean world of Satan.

Due to whatever reason, the album of the US-Americans was recorded in Vienna. What is even more amazing is the fact that the Austrian production does not show any serious deficiencies. Well, it lacks an extra portion of heaviness in order to reveal the full potential of a slowly creeping piece like "Voices Within", which is actually not bad. But generally speaking, the sound can be described as dense, dark and well balanced. Compared with the dull, powerless and flat production of the debut, the here presented mix marks a noteworthy improvement.

Long story short, the concept sucks, some riffs sound stale and about half of the breaks are not managed in a very clever way. Nevertheless, this second attempt has its moments and the positive tendency cannot be ignored. All maniacs that like old-fashioned black metal can give Lex Talionis a try.

Rating: 5.6 out of 10