The first of two concept albums that top my 2020 list, Melinoë is a true example of how music can be sincerely frightening. Heavy metal is so often accused of this by politicians, that the music is going to turn the youth of America into Satan worshiping little demons. But, what they wind up citing as examples is often hilarious, ranging from the shallow teenage rebellion of Korn to the G-rated classics like Black Sabbath. If they knew about Naas Alcameth, the distorted mind behind Nightbringer and the project captured here, those politicians might actually have a decent argument.
Akhlys is Alcameth's attempt to envision a dream state, more specifically, "the many strange occurrences I’ve been through either whilst dreaming, falling asleep, or waking up." This particular album centers on the conjuring of the ancient Greek Chthonic nymph Melinoë known as the goddess of propitiation (the offerings made to the deceased by family and friends). She's also known as the bringer of nightmares and madness and it comes across very clearly that that is exactly what this album's purpose is, to bring nightmares to the listener.
It's difficult to talk about separate attributes of an album like this because it is such a successful cohesive vision. Talking about things like "that track is just filler," or "I'm not sure if this drum pattern is useful here," wouldn't make any sense. This album feels like a perfect realization of something evil and ancient. Taking the guitar tone as a specific example, normally I would talk about things like gain stages and amp settings, but I can't here. Listening to the guitar tone doesn't make me picture the amplifier used to create it, it makes me picture darkened halls and apparitions.
If I had any sort of belief in the supernatural, I might actually believe Melinoë was speaking through Alcameth during the creation of this album, I might think this is evidence of an actual conjuring of an ancient deity. Luckily, I'm of sound enough mind to disregard that possibility, however, I can't guarantee my subconscious is so convinced, and my dreams may very well be impacted by this experience.
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