This is the third album from Canadian black metal band Acédia.
Acédia play a modern brand of black metal that’s taut with melodic colour and ripe with dissonant underpinnings. Across the 40 minutes of Fracture the band deliver an enjoyable journey into contemporary blackened waters.
Acédia are an obviously talented group, and their music reflects this clearly. There are a lot of complicated and individual working parts on Fracture, kept well-oiled and working correctly by the skill of the band. The songs offer an intriguing mix of melodic immersion, dark density, and chaotic violence. There is a complexity here that allows for intricate expressions of emotion, while also showing a savagery born from black metal’s more feral leanings.
It’s uncommon to encounter a black metal act that fuses technicality with raw emotion in this way, and it makes for an engaging and compelling listen. The reliance on feeling in the music and the delivery method of some of the harsh vocals also brings to mind the depressive black metal style, albeit a bespoke version that’s been heavily augmented by dissonance and otherworldly intricacy.
Fracture is an enjoyable album that showcases a band who are not afraid to make their own way in the world. Acédia are treading dark paths of catharsis and emotional articulation, and if they invite you to walk with them, it’s best to go willingly.
A recommended record for explorers of atypical blackened experiences.
Wonderbox Metal 