AKIAVEL hailing from Southern France were formed in 2018. They are a melodic Death Metal band with traditional Death Metal, Groove, Thrash, and Black Metal influences. Prior to "Veni Vidi Vici", AKIAVEL released one EP and two full-length albums. It was released via the band's own label Akia Records. "Veni Vidi Vici" has a length of more than 42 minutes. AKIAVEL is one of those young and modern bands, which started their career just prior to the pandemic. They had their debut album "V" released back in 2020, ready to rock the European stages as the lockdowns halted all their plans. However, it did not stop the band, AKIAVEL did everything they could do and quickly released the much acclaimed sophomore album "Vae Victis" in 2021. As the pandemic still had the stranglehold over Europe, the band decided to continue writing music and here we go, album number three has been released as downloads end of 2022 and now also on CD.

AKIAVEL have their very own style and imagery when it comes to their albums, and it is no surprise that their album title is yet again a Latin expression which means "just arrived and won" or as Germans would say "I came, I saw, I won". The style of AKIAVEL have always been consistent and so the opener "Purgatory" is a continuation of the band's previous music: epic melodies, crushing riffs, and the brute force of the growling vocalist Aure on top of it. "Purgatory" has a very own melancholy in the melody and Aure's vocals have enough versatility to adapt to the frequent changes between powerful and heavy riffing at fast pace and quiet melodic parts. "(Help) Me Too" starts at frantic pace with tight riffing, crunching bass lines, and a few blast-beats. There is a switch in tempo between the fast verse parts and the mid-tempo chorus parts with epic melodies. The break halfway through the track is almost a bit ballad-esque. "Souls Of War" has a fast start, but transitions quickly towards mid-tempo. The riffing is sharp with a lot of twists in rhythm, and there are plenty of tempo shifts throughout the track. Overall, the melodic framework is pretty catchy during the verse and chorus parts, while the final part of the track leans more towards the doom-laden melancholic melodies at a measured pace.

"Bye!" is another crushing track starting at a stomping rhythm, before transitioning into a fast blast-beat driven part. The sound is driven by a lot of twists in pace, rhythm, and complexity in the song structure. The most straight-forward part is the epic chorus at a measured pace where guest vocalist William Morabito is leading the vocals, with Aure accompanying more in the background. "Bye!"  is for me one of the best songs on the album. "Witchcraft" has a pummeling start with the guitars and the blast-beats before transitioning to a mid-tempo verse part. The riffing is again very powerful throughout the track and the melodies are epic in particular during the chorus part. There are again many twists in rhythm and tempo covering the whole range from crazy speed, via mid-tempo to a slow and measured rhythm where the latter one accompanies to the melancholic part of the track. "Witchcraft" has been released as official video, and the YouTube link is given below.

"Thoughts Of A Survivor" has a fast start for the verse part, but becomes a mid-tempo track soon after. The song consists in principle of two distinct parts, the fast parts with flesh-ripping riffing, and the slow and melancholic part with epic melodies. The vocals are the overarching element here with a lot of tonal shifts required to keep the track together, and Aure does a brilliant job. "A Few Words For Love" is perhaps the song with the catchiest riffing during the verse parts. It is a mid-tempo song with a few subtle changes in rhythm. The chorus parts include the trademark melodic framework of AKIAVEL, with a mixture of epic and melancholic elements.

"Reign Of Lights" has a very heavy start with crushing riffs and bass lines at a stomping rhythm. It does not take long to transition to a part at crazy speed and the verse parts are going back and forth between both parts. The chorus parts include epic melodies at a slow pace. It is worth mentioning that "Veni Vidi Vici" does not have any lead guitar solo, which is typical for the signature sound of AKIAVEL. This often leads to relatively short breaks in the songs. "Salvation" is a mid-tempo track with the focus more on the melodies. There are switches in rhythm as there are a few down-tempo parts. "Salvation" is one of those tracks where there are in principle no breaks for the vocals and Aure is leading the track excellently. As there are no solos, there is typically more to do for the vocalist and "Salvation" is a good example for this. The album closes with the bonus track "Rape The Limit", which is a newly recorded version of the song from the self-named first EP.

AKIAVEL deliver another excellent melodic Death Metal album. "Veni Vidi Vici" is a continuation of the trademark AKIAVEL sound as a mixture of raw Death Metal hammering and melancholic melodies all set up in an epic melodic framework. Highlight of the album is the versatile vocal contribution of Aure, who keeps the sound excellently together. One feature of the album is the added complexity compared to previous releases, which is evidence for a mature songwriting. The album is very well produced. With "Veni Vidi Vici", AKIAVEL establish their signature sound further and are on the verge to become a serious melodic Death Metal force in Europe and beyond.