siLLy puPPy The French death metal band AUTOKRATOR evolved significantly from its caverncore origins of its first two albums to 2018’s “Hammer of Heretics” which found the addition of madman percussionist Kévin Paradis joining ranks which took the brainchild of guitarist / bassist Loïc Fontaine out of the reverb drenched underworld into the more accepted parameters of death metal which resulted in an explosive diversification that allowed the band to catch the attention of the underground world of extreme metal. It’s been three long years since AUTOKRATOR squirmed its way out of the sludgy abyss but once again these Frenchies based in Marseille have unleashed the fourth installment of earache central with its head banging bombast in the form of PERSECUTION.

It’s utterly amazing how much this band has changed since its 2014 eponymously titled debut which was in the world of the blackened death caverncore of Portal and Mitocondrion. PERSECUTION finds AUTOKRATOR continuing its Roman Empire themes complete with the military march percussive themes that have graced each release since the beginning but this band has always found a way to keep the albums just a bit different from the next and PERSECUTION is by no means the exception to this rule. Sounding more like a “traditional” death metal band, album #4 continues the AUTOKRATOR playbook only with more emphasis on the world of old school death metal styles that have cross-pollinated with the thematic approach of the entire AUTOKRATOR theme diary.

Still steeped in an eerie and evil as fuck sound that mixes classic blackened death metal with the raging angst of war metal and residual traces of the caverncore Portal influences, PERSECUTION offers a fine roster of six tracks steeped in death metal glory replete with rampaging riffs, bombastic bass parts that are now more easily distinguished from hornet buzz swarming effects of the past along with Paradis’ professional percussive prowess in full regalia. Distorted guitar riffs still rule the roost but the superior production value of these more modern releases guarantee that the muddy mixes of the past offer a clearer separation of elements that constitute the more “traditional” death metal sounds on board. Even David Bailey’s vox box style is more in the classic old school guttural growl camp having jettisoned a lot of the blackened raspiness of yore.

PERSECUTION showcases AUTOKRATOR crafting more sophisticated composiitons with some like the near 10-minute dissonant powerhouse “Antechristus” taking on some progressive tendencies with jangly guitar chords that bring Deathspell Omega to mind. The pace of the album is fairly frenetic as always but there are a lot more varying attributes to be heard this time around without getting too overly experimental (which isn’t a bad thing but does require more bandwidth for the casual listener.) With the bombastic brashness of the opener “De Gloria Martyrum Et Confessorum” to the infectious immediacy of the spoken word in Laitin closing speech of “Apocalypsis,” PERSECUTOR offers a journey through the brutal yet poignant leitmotifs of ancient Rome’s Flavian dynasty which excelled in various forms of religious PERSECUTION.

The themes are perfectly matched with the excellent musical accompaniments with the most distinct occurring with the fifth track “Caesar Nerva Traianus” which features the now classic AUTOKRATOR-ism of Roman military marches. In fact i can confidently say that AUTOKRATOR is to Roman history as Nile is to Egyptian styled death metal. All in all, AUTOKRATOR has more than succeeded in crafting an interesting unique nook in the world of death metal. Despite having stood out in the murky world of caverncore, AUTOKRATOR has done a stellar job in retaining that which made it unique in the first place and applying those same attributes to a more all-encompassing style of the greater death metal universe. Perhaps not quite as OMG brilliant as Nile in incorporating ancient themes due to the fact there are not unique musical scales that permeate, i still find AUTOKRATOR to resonate quite well in that unique niche of nerdy history professor nook of hyperactive extreme metal freakery. Another excellent album from this Mediterranean sensation!