01. Act 1: The Tenth Persecution
02. Act 2: Exsuperator
03. Act 3: The Filth Pig Of Rome
04. Act 4: Autokrator
05. Act 5: Qualis Artifex Pereo
06. Act 6: Sit Divus, Modo Non Vivus
07. Act 7: Imperial Whore
08. Act 8: Optimus Princeps

Those not particularly accustomed to the drone genre may be surprised to discover the incredible amount of variation lurking within it. As a fundamentally structure-less genre, its very nature leaves the door for invention wide open, in turn leading to many different interpretations of the drone sound. This year, French newcomers Autokrator are ready to put their own spin on this principle, with some interesting, though perhaps unexpected influences.

With one glimpse at the cover of Autokrator's self titled debut, it's not that difficult to discern what the theme at work here is. Obviously, these guys are working their music around the history of Roman emperors, and all their decadent fetishes of violence, sex, and everything in between. An trite theme, perhaps, but certainly not in regards to the music which Autokrator apply to it. With the dark nature of their lyrical topic comes some truly evil music, essentially a pummeling, repetitive droney core topped off with some industrial influences, with some ominous blast beats and death growls in the background for an absolutely terrifying result.

On paper, these sound like genres that would, by their very nature, be inherently opposed to each other, but on their debut Autokrator tap into the hidden strings between them and weave them all around each other. In the fusion of influences, the music here can often get pleasantly varied and ambiguous, to the point where it can sometimes become difficult to pick out which sound exactly is dominating. "Act 2," for example, is extremely thick, heavy, and droney, yet you can still find some intense drumming and small hints of industrial type riffing within it. Other tracks, meanwhile, lay toward the more extreme end of things, like "Act 5," which sounds closer to some industrial form of death metal than drone.

Bands blending extreme metal with drone, while they might be limited, are still nothing entirely new. Menace Ruine have done it, P.H.O.B.O.S. have done it, and Gnaw Their Tongues is perhaps the prime example of it. Yet there is nonetheless something Autokrator are doing here on their debut that feels entirely their own. By infusing their brand of drone with death metal and industrial influences, the band give the former a more vile and unforgiving edge than usual, but they also in turn give the latter two a much more smothering and crushing twist as well. A truly original debut from these guys, and an album I would suggest as a possible entry point to the drone genre, as I've seen that many non-drone fans have been enjoying it lately.

Abandon all hope, ye who would seek melody here.