Akercocke - Rape Of The Bastard Nazarene
1999 Goat Of Mendes Records

Track Listing:
1.  Hell
2.  Nadja
3.  The Goat
4.  Marguerite & Gretchen
5.  Sephiroth Rising
6.  Zulieka
7.  Conjuration
8.  Il Giardino Di Monte Oliveto Maggiore
9.  Justine

Line-Up:
Vocals:  Jason Mendonca
Guitars:  Paul Scanlan, Jason Mendonca
Bass:  Peter Theobald
Drums:  David Gray

Website:  www.akercocke.com

Shev's Rating:  D-
Average Album Rating:  D-

Also be sure to read:
Akercocke - Choronzon  by Shev

Shev's Review:
When I think of bands who have only gotten better since their debut, Akercocke usually comes to mind.  Not only is their full-length debut lacking compared to all of their later material, but "Rape Of The Bastard Nazarene" downright sucks.  Easily their worst album.

Mixing death and black metal together, Akercocke seems to prefer the absolutely terrible production that so many black metal bands seem to favor.  The production on this isn't just terrible though, it's almost unlistenable.  A massive blur of instruments, one-dimensional growls, and a piss poor job working the drums in.

The funny thing is, it's not that these guys are bad musicians.  Even going back to their debut it was quite obvious that they knew their way around their stuff.  What they choose to play, with the exception of a nice change of tempo here and an above average riff there, is so utterly generic that I can't help but hate this release.  One would also need to take into consideration the fact that these guys are throwing in a ton of noisy/chanting filler.  You'd think that the boring songs and terrible production would be enough.

Bottom line is this...if you like crappy Satanic drama music or things that just downright suck, then this album is for you.  For everybody else, including those new to Akercocke, "Rape Of The Bastard Nazarene" is just plain bad.
Shev's Rating:  D-

Discography (last updated 12.23.05):
Rape Of The Bastard Nazarene - 1999
The Goat Of Mendes - 2001
Choronzon - 2003
Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone - 2005