Band:	Autokrator
Album:	The Obedience To Authority
Style:	Drone, Industrial death metal
Release date:	April 22, 2016
A review by:	Auntie Sahar

01. Chapter I
02. Chapter II
03. Chapter III
04. Chapter IV
05. Chapter V
06. Chapter VI
07. Chapter VII
08. Chapter VIII

"Autokrator" is a term, Greek in origin, which roughly translates to "self ruler," or "one who rules by self." It is an epithet that conveys raw, unrestrained power and authority. Fittingly then, the sophomore effort from the French Autokrator gives listeners a fine lesson in such authority.

In case you missed their debut from last year, Autokrator deliver a bleak, ferocious sound that boils down to something like "industrial + death metal + drone." At the end of the day, this sound leans more towards those first two than anything else, but the way in which it's played, in a very monotonous, repetitive style, with very little note or tempo variation (if any), bears a heavy drone influence as well. On The Obedience To Authority, the band more or less continues the formula already established on their debut: the music here is cold, detached, and simply refuses to yield to any external force standing in its way. You may be begging for it to stop at points, either because the listening experience is simply too painful, or because you find the formula too boring, but it will not relent. The violence of the Autokrator is here to bring submission, and bring it it shall.

There is one small twist to The Obedience To Authority, however. This time around we actually see Autokrator experimenting with some less violent (though equally as dark) atmospheric effects in their mix, hints at a possible dark ambient influence. Other than Chapters III and VI, which are full on ambient interludes, this technique only really seems to appear as a way of closing out tracks, a new way of ending the carnage with a more haunting epilogue of sorts. This new technique appears infrequently, but the fact that it's even there to begin with is enough to make The Obedience To Authority more interesting than its predecessor, as it demonstrates that Autokrator are indeed committed to evolution and maturing their sound over time. I'd personally like to see these ambient effects expanded upon and interwoven more into the rest of the music, but this raises the question of whether or not Autokrator's doing so will sacrifice the more violent, uncompromising nature of said music. Time will tell.

As with the band's debut, The Obedience To Authority's rigid, terrifying approach will inevitably make it appealing to a very small audience, and many will probably be bored by the lack of variation amongst its tracks and the monolithic, repetitive composition style. But this conclusion may be failing to take one important question into consideration. At the end of the day, what is the nature of "one who rules by self"? They are absolutists, they often lack emotion or concern for anyone but themselves. They hold total, unlimited power, they are staunch and unwavering. And the music of Autokrator follows suit in such a delivery: devoid of emotion, staunch, and unwavering. Looking at the interior artwork of both albums from the band, the music they put forth really couldn't be a better reflection of the themes that they're working with. And it's yet another of many examples in the music world that sometimes, more often than thought in fact, less truly is more.

Submit to the authority.