When I first looked at reviewing Ecstatic Kingdom by Akolyth and saw that it ran over 35 minutes with only four tracks, I gotta admit — eyebrows were raised. What was I about to let myself in for? Was this going to be Experimental Black Metal? All drones and no tones? A self-indulgent mess designed to make you wish you’d stayed in bed? Or worse, was it going to be that torturous kind of Experimental Black Metal with a tinge of Depressive added in for good measure so I’d end up wanting to climb inside my oven and switch the fucking thing on?
Jesus Christ — one of the tracks is over fourteen minutes long. Fourteen minutes. That’s not an album track, that’s an endurance trial. What kind of Hell was I about to have to deal with?
Then I hit play.
By the end of it, I realised I was a fucking idiot.
Because Ecstatic Kingdom isn’t just an album. It’s an unrelenting, sprawling statement of intent, a crushing monument of sound that takes everything you thought you knew about Black Metal and smashes it into pieces with a hammer forged from riffs, rage, and atmosphere. Akolyth haven’t just made an album — they’ve built a world of sound. And it’s ecstatic in every sense of the word: furious, overwhelming, and intoxicating.
From the very first second of opener A Black Torch, you know this isn’t going to be a casual listen. It begins with an explosion, a blizzard of distortion and blast beats. Akolyth aren’t here to fuck around — they’re here to crush. That track alone sets the tone for what follows: music designed to batter your senses and bury you under its weight.
The title track, Ecstatic Kingdom, continues the assault, but there’s a method to the madness. Akolyth blend chaos with control, fusing moments of pure ferocity with sweeping, almost cinematic passages. These are riffs that feel like they’ve been carved from stone, riffs heavy enough to make your bones ache just listening to them. And they’re paired with a rhythm section that is both relentless and precise — drum patterns that feel like a war machine on a mission, bass that rumbles like a universe imploding on itself.
To Grow, Flourish And Conquer is up next, with some of the finest tremolo picking since Euronymous looked at his guitar and said: ‘You know what, we need to go faster.’
Then comes the beast — Without Light, clocking in at over fourteen minutes. This isn’t indulgence; it’s a journey. It begins with crushing weight, builds through spiralling passages of tremolo fury, and at points drops into moments so atmospheric they could stand alongside the best of depressive or post-black metal. This is Akolyth showing their range — their ability to combine raw aggression with artistry, creating something immersive and unforgettable.
The closing track isn’t a winding-down so much as a final declaration: Ecstatic Kingdom leaves you battered, bruised, and somehow exhilarated. It’s Black Metal stripped to its core, rearranged on a laboratory table, and expanded in scope — experimental without losing focus, intense without becoming self-indulgent.
What makes this album work so well is Akolyth’s ability to balance extremes. It’s furious and expansive, chaotic and meticulously composed. It’s Black Metal as a living, breathing thing — constantly evolving, constantly surprising, and always hungry.
If there’s a flaw here, it’s not in the music itself, but in the very audacity of what Akolyth have created. This isn’t an album you can casually slot into your playlist. It demands attention, commitment, and an appetite for something heavier, deeper, and darker than most will dare to venture. But if you’re willing to go there, Ecstatic Kingdom will repay you in full.
Ecstatic Kingdom is available now from the Akolyth Bandcamp page.
CHOICE CUT: Without Light
BLACK METAL ARCHIVES VERDICT: Akolyth’s Ecstatic Kingdom is a Black Metal tour de force — a perfect storm of atmosphere, ferocity, and ambition. This is a record that doesn’t just demand to be heard, it demands to be experienced.
