Hailing from the south of France, the gentlemen and lady of Akiavel belie their dapper and sophisticated dress sense with a groovy and demonic salutation to the death and thrash metal of old and new. Their latest and second full-length, Væ Victis was released back on April 23rd and the band have been promoting it as relentlessly as possible by slapping themselves all over a broad number of online, print and podcast media in both English and their native tongue. Let’s not forget their breakthrough appearance at Metal Injection’s Slay at Home Fest back in February, at which they so impressed that they’ve been invited back to help with the Slay at Home finale, starting tomorrow.
As well, the band have issuing promo videos for a couple new songs, the latest being “Comrade” which, coincidentally, we’re premiering today. When the video was originally pitched, my first reaction after viewing was to look beyond the solemn subject matter and proclaim (in a good way, mind you) that, “This is one of the most confused and disparate things I’ve seen and heard in a long time. And those kids are better actors than the adults!” Take it for a spin and see what you think once the melodic and stomping death metal dust settles – or as it’s being kicked up. The song and video’s subject matter appears to address heinous Russian serial killer Andrei “The Butcher of Rostov” Chikatilo who killed over 50 women and children in the late ‘70s and ‘80s and when asked for a bit of insight, vocalist Aurélie Gérard reveals:
“When I compose a song, I like to be alone at home. I’m old school so I don’t have a computer. Just a pencil and a white page. A lot of things happen in my head and in my feelings when I decide to write about a subject. When I wrote ‘Comrade,’ I was so focused in the horrors of Chikatilo that as soon as I finished, I took my son in my arms, I hugged him very tightly, I kissed him a thousand times, I almost cried… Depending on the subject, if it touches me too hard sometimes I need a little time before I dive back on another song.”
For more info about the band, or to snag a copy of Væ Victis, check out one of the links below. Also, see the poster for the finale of the Slay at Home series which Akaviel are helping to bring home.
