Rating: 7/10
Release: 23 May 2025
Label: Rockshots Records

Italy’s Æxylium formed in 2014 and are now on their third album. I’ll start by addressing the elephant in the room, namely that all too often, they have a tendency to veer into Eluveitie worship territory. While there is obviously nothing wrong with being inspired by other bands, when it comes to writing your own material, it needs to bring with it something of your own band’s personality. It’s all well and good on your first or even second album, but by album number three, a band should have found their own identity. And that’s my main issue with “Myth of Mankind”.

As soon as the ubiquitous “atmospheric” intro kicked it, my heart sank. I knew exactly where it was going.  That said, to be fair to them, a lot of the songs aren’t bad, they’re just a little uninspired and formulaic.

Now, with the negatives out of the way, it’s time to give them their due and to focus on what I like about the album. There are some catchy tunes to be found here and dare I say, the occasional banger! Highlights for me include “Eclissi” and title-track, “Myth of Mankind”, both of which show flashes of brilliance. “Eclissi” sounds for all the world like the love child of Elvenking and Eluveitie. “Myth of Mankind”, however is a different beast, veering from the death growls of fellow Italians, Battlelore and the upbeat flute stylings of Jethro Tull, all the time being underpinned by some sublime bass licks.

All that said, however, my overall impression of the album is that I’ve heard it all before. I understand that it isn’t easy to be original in 2025, and it would be deeply unfair to expect a band to surprise me, but the sooner Æxylium embrace their own personality and obvious ability to pen a nice little folk ditty, the better. I believe that they have more to offer and look forward to album number 4.

Tracklist

1. Fontes et Omnia
2. The Queen
3. Hexe
4. Into Oblivion
5. In Sorrow
6. Myth of Mankind
7. Eclissi
8. Wild Hunt
9. Surrender
10. Northern Lights
11. Eternity V