Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Azrath 11
Label: Self-released
Release date: 01.11.2011
Runtime: 01:02:26
Rating: 3.5/5
Italian metal often gets a bad rap, a negative stigma it earned mostly through excessive pomp, generic sound, and tired, overplayed ideas. The image of bands like Rhapsody and their fifteen spin-offs has certainly done its part to cement that reputation. But even a blind hen finds a grain now and then, and our western neighbors can boast a few excellent acts too – Gory Blister, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Mortuary Drape, Necromass, Sadist and The Secret are just a few Italian bands that rise above the kitsch. One of them is undoubtedly Azrath-11, founded in 2007 by Absu Telal Daghon and Asmodevs Draco Dvx (Naer Mataron, Slavocracy). Last year the duo, bolstered by new members, put out their debut, The Shrine Ov All Hallucinations.
Azrath-11 are planted deep in blackened death metal, and with their hellish, occult atmosphere and slight Middle Eastern touches they bring to mind Nile and Behemoth. With an old-school approach and primal production, the band comes closest to the early work of American masters Nile, Black Seeds of Vengeance and In Their Darkened Shrines. The album’s biggest strength is its massive, brutal sound, full of mighty riffing and chaotic drums, with a deep bass audible nicely in some parts. Azrath-11 take an exceptionally complex approach to songwriting, tipping the scales from your run-of-the-mill brutal death metal toward the technical side. The monumental sonic assault is packed with blasphemous riffs that recall the bastard child of black and death metal – sometimes they twitch like a swarm of bees at faster-than-light speed, other times they serve up a set of riffs and passages that make a fine homage to old-school death metal. The bass lines complement the guitars nicely, while the rhythm section is ruled first and foremost by phenomenal drumming that sounds like a military march and the ravages of war at the same time. Asmodevs shows off a staggering range of technical skills, and the masterfully pounded-out parts come close to the human octopus George Kollias (Nile). So expect a generous (but not excessive, and not the least bit boring!) helping of double bass drums, well-thought-out transitions and ripping blast beats. The slow, massive, brutal sound nails the album’s occult nature, wrapping around your ears like Cthulhu’s tentacles, but unfortunately the production is also the record’s weakest side. It sounds too raw and muffled, and the instruments don’t get enough room to breathe. The production really does sound as obscure and evil as if the record had been cut in the darkness of the catacombs, but The Shrine ov All Hallucinations would only truly shine with proper production. It happens more than once that the drums and vocals completely bury the guitar lines, especially when the double vocals kick in. The dual vocal interplay does sound wonderfully varied and adds more dynamics to the material, and the growler/screamer duo do their job with distinction. The ominous clean vocals also fit the record’s epic, occult image perfectly, playing the part of cult leaders worshipping Lovecraft’s ancient deities.
As the band’s firstborn, Azrath-11’s debut is as wicked and demonic as Damien from The Omen, but it still needs a few more evil deeds before it can take over daddy’s seat. The production above all deserves an upgrade, since a cleaner, higher-quality sound would lift the band to the next level, and it wouldn’t hurt to homogenize the material and trim ten or twenty minutes off the second record, which is already in the works. At almost seventy minutes, The Shrine ov All Hallucinations is like building a pyramid – hauling hundred-ton stones while stormy riffs, earthquake drumming and a dreadful mythological atmosphere whip you along the way.
Lineup
Asmodevs Draco Dvx – vocals, drums, keyboards, samples, acoustic and additional guitars
Absu Telal Daghon – guitar, backing vocals
Dioskouroi Deimos Faol – bass, backing vocals
Production
Asmodevs Draco Dvx & Roberto Montanari and Simone Rizzo
Track list
1. Even the Gods Can Deny Our Solemnity (March ov Triumphant Genesis)
2. Ov Stormblades and Waracle
3. Imposing My Will
4. Anti
5. Aeonic Mouth of Prophecy
6. Under the Third Moon Oracle
7. The Omnipotent Paradigm
8. Where Memories Fade to Tragedies
9. …And Reclaim the Voices ov the Ancients
10. Imperial Remembrance
11. The Shrine ov All Hallucinations
12. Humanitas Detestabilis
13. Trails of Nothingness
