I don’t have the details, but I’m curious about the who, what, and why behind the band name. With such a band moniker, which (many?!) could consider childish, it also can quite possibly be a hindrance, but at this point, do they even care? We all know the saying that any press is good press. Now, I must confess I sort of blew off the band name and the band themselves initially because of that. Then I saw the cover art for their first release, ‘Diabolic Slaughter,’ and that, shall we say, broke the camel’s back. I am seriously guilty of buying albums by artwork alone; the imagery drew me in and said, “Buy Me Now,” and, well, here we are today. Granted, the artwork for this release is a bit more subtle and more mood-inducing; it is still quite well done, nonetheless.
I know by this point you are asking, “How’s the music?” Well, for those uninitiated, you are going to get VERY predominant Kreator and late-era Slayer vibes. You will notice it immediately in the vocals of ‘Skullripper’. He has an angrier rasp very similar to our good fellow Mille Petrozza. Also of note is that ¾ of the band are part of Azarath. They have eschewed Black Metal influences and adopted the sound of those aforementioned bands for this particular project. Musically, it is running the same path as those that they are, for the most part, emulating.
Throughout the album’s 9 tracks, you can make the comparisons and hear the similarities, so you can safely say where their influences lie. It makes a case for one to say just where or what their own sound is. I will say this, tho, the addition of Inferno to the ranks has upped the dynamic and quality of their songwriting. Where, for the most part, the band’s material could be considered standard Blackened Thrash, but now with Inferno behind the kit, it definitely adds those air-drumming moments. Which I am 90% sure you all will be doing plenty of at any given moment.
Another thing I appreciated on the current release is the addition of minor keyboard flourishes being added to the mix. They appear on various songs and in subtle ways. I would say the final track ‘The Temple of Deciet Burns Bright’ is where you will notice it primarily. It leans greatly into the atmosphere of the closing track. They are also buried low in the mix, so they are not taking center stage, like, say, in a Dimmu Borgir sort of way, but they bring forth a bit of spice to the proceedings and add a welcome texture to the songs themselves.
So if you can get past the name and possibly their slightly derivative approach to the genre, you will find their material to be engaging for the most part, but just don’t expect the world to be set on fire.
