Axioma are a post-black/sludge metal band from the US and this is their second album.
I first met Axioma back in 2016 on their debut EP Opia, which seems like an age ago. Well, since then they haven’t been idle, and their second album Sepsis came out earlier this year. Let’s dive in.
Axioma’s blackened style is one informed by both sludge heaviness and post-metal texture, with added touches of post-hardcore and doom in places. Sepsis is a modern exploration of apocalyptic extreme metal, transforming black metal’s darkness into something contemporary and virulent.
Sepsis is a multifaceted beast, with its various influences coming to play in different ways across the album. Axioma’s music is not just one single thing. Yes, you can loosely term this black metal, but ultimately it is a form of blackened sludge extremity that relies on a variety of moving parts to make the music work, and work it does very hard and very well.
There’s an atypical oppressive atmosphere on Sepsis that’s infectious in its insidious effects. It draws you in whether you want it to or not, immersing you in ridged and jagged landscapes of huge riffs, harsh vocals, and macabre mood. The songwriting makes the most of these attributes, crafting percussive and rhythmic monsters that pulse and writhe with viral vibrancy as they seep into your skin. Sepsis is nothing if not malevolently moreish, so give in and succumb to its sickness.
Axioma have created an impressive and enjoyable album. Did you miss out on Sepsis when it came out in June? I did. Don’t miss out a moment longer.
Essential listening.
For fans of bans such as Tombs, Cult of Luna, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber, Fell Ruin, Hope Drone, Inter Arma, Downfall of Gaia, Wolvhammer, Rorcal, and Celeste.
Wonderbox Metal 