Acheron The Final Conflict: Last Days Of God

It opens with a siren wail similar to Tragedy's Vengeance but with the name Acheron (the river of woe that winds through Hades), and a cover boasting a three-headed Cerberus. With Ibex Moon Records backing them, it's assuredly more death metal than the aforementioned hardcore heavyweights. Unfortunately, it's pretty mediocre death metal for the most part, and one could chalk that up to a sound throwing back to the genre's American beginnings. With a tone more at home in the early days of death, bassist/vocalist (and sole remaining founding member) Vincent Crowley's long-running outlet has been at it since 1988 and continues in the sound, albeit a little less Satanic (Crowley resigned from the Church of Satan 10 years ago), and a little less Floridian; the band now calls Columbus, Ohio home. Boasting a band personnel list longer than the Acheron's 21 year history, it's pretty much a less evil, more mid-paced Deicide, more apt at groove than technicality. And while the record shows some bright spots ("Godless (We Are Gods!)," the end of "Millennium's End," and the dive-bomb/power chug dynamic of "Power And Might"), most of The Final Conflict: Last Days Of God is pretty standard fare stuff stuck in the late 80s/early 90s American death metal scene: long songs, ten tracks, and a throaty delivery of evil lyrics sounding more akin to thrash than Cookie Monster. And there is a ton of snare for good measure. The shining sections of The Final Conflict are the guitar work when it's left to spill out a solo, but unfortunately that only makes up a fraction of each song's Satan-inspired structure (tracks average over five minutes). Bottom Line: At times it shines, but for the most part, The Final Conflict: Last Days Of God seems to conflict with itself. Awesome parts are overshadowed by mediocre passages of standard thoroughfare death, the overall tempo seems decidedly stuck in a mid-pace gear, and the record is probably too long for all but the most die-hard death metal devotees. But hey, there's probably a reason Acheron is still around 21 years later. But then again, what happened to the 20-something other dudes that have spent time in the ranks of the band, and why aren't they around anymore