AKKIN – Punishment Divine (Single Review)

Today’s review features Akkin and his new single “Punishment Divine”.

Akkin is an Italian session musician who has frequently played on Asian and Japanese songs and albums, including a wealth of Japanese anime theme songs. After a solo career in rock and metal, Akkin also began working as a session musician in 2021. He has recently released an EP titled “Humanoid” containing 4 of his instrumental prog and metal tracks.

Akkin’s “latest release is the song ‘Punishment Divine,’ which leans toward melodic power metal with Teutonic influences from bands like Helloween and Blind Guardian, all in one instrumental song.” (Bio)

So let’s have a listen …

Right off, I like that the song has a video. More artists should have videos for their singles. We are in the age of video and social media, after all.

The song is heavy metal and hits hard with a nice chugging riff right from the beginning. The video has a warrior chasing an attractive woman around in the woods. The warrior is then assaulted by evil and thrown into a gravesite, but survives only to be cursed by an evil temptress. Or something like that, it’s hard to tell because this song is purely instrumental. I like that the video has glimpses of the band performing the song.

The musicians’ performances are excellent! The lead guitarist soars over the band’s heavy-chugging metal riffage. Everything is in sync. I like the drums on the track; they keep the song moving. The song slows down a bit in the middle with the lead guitar taking center stage. It’s a nice heavy metal song. Even if only instrumental. I like where the bass and drums take over toward the end of the song, and all the other instruments drop out. Then the full band rejoins, nice lead guitar against the heavy-chugging. Then just as suddenly, the song ends. A nice ride through heavy metal.

SCORE/Excellent: Akkin’s new single Punishment Devine chugs hard through an epic storyline as told in it’s accompanying song video. The performances are excellent, as are the mix and production. The song is nicely arranged, and the video is fun to watch. If you’re a fan of Slayer, you’ll probably love this instrumental track! Much love, Beth

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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