Style: Synthwave
Primary Emotions/Themes: Brain go brrrrr
Thoughts: This album and it's sequel have a special place for me. They are two of the albums that got me deeply into synthwave for a time. I was never able to get a copy of Akuma I on vinyl until NewRetroWave randomly released a repress a few years after it was out of print. Needless to say, that's the version that's on my turntable right now.
Some albums are built different. They hit in a specific way that no other one does. Akuma is one of those albums. The bleep's and bloops from the synths are programmed in such a way that they hit that primitive part of my brain. They help me focus and project the primal instincts that come from instinct instead of rational thought.
Looking at the first real song The Pact, everything is done just about perfectly. The pulse that is synonymous with synthwave is there. It's deep and it's harrowing. It pulls me in like so few other albums can. Maybe it's because it's one of the first I ever got, maybe it's something deeper. I don't know and honestly I don't really care, this shit rules.
The synths themselves burrow their synthetic melodies deep into my head and never let go. I'll have the melodies to these songs come out of no where and be stuck in my head for days. They are catchy, but they are also compelling - the two often don't go together.
The album doesn't stop there though. As it progresses there are moments of serenity among the chaotic synths. Torment offers an ominous yet somehow calming interlude before the brutal Sacrifice comes in and obliterates my speakers. Alex works with Rachel McAlpine on the title track of the album to create an almost pop atmosphere with her chilling voice.
Akuma does not have a weak track on it. Wither it's something that Alex wrote or Tokyo Rose, they are all of the highest quality. I'm not sure I would call this album elite, but it is certainly in the upper escalon of synthwave. That in and of itself is pretty damn good.
Written April 24th 2024
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