“Codex Barathri” is the first full-length album of Axamenta from Belgium. The band was founded in 1993 and has since then recorded several demos and a mini cd, which interested the L.S.P. Company enough to sign them. Over the years their music has changed from straightforward death metal to, as they choose to call it, “Fantasy Horror Black Metal” The band compares themselves with Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir, which is not entirely an accurate comparison. I find more similarities with Dutch acts like Ordo Draconis and Liar of Golgotha. That means excessive use of keyboards, a wide range of vocals and an overall orchestral sound to the music. The two strongest points on “Codex Barathri” are without a doubt the keyboards and the voice of singer Mordheim. The keyboards are an integral part of the sound of Axamenta instead of merely filling the blanks.

If they would be left out the band would sound very different indeed. Mordheim uses a whole spectrum of voices, ranging from a hellish black metal scream to a thundering death metal grunt. One might say he’s not as good as Dani Filth (Cradle of Filth) but at least he’s doing the real thing instead of using fancy software (Pro Tools) to copy/paste the vocals. Lyric-wise Axamenta uses the dark romantic love-theme, as well as pagan ideology. The artwork is done by the legendary Kris Verwimp, whose cover nicely fits the description of their style of music. Listening to the album multiple times is a requirement to fully appreciate Axamenta; but once you’re beyond that everyone who is into melodic black metal will love it.