Azrael
Obdurate / Unto Death ()
Wydane przez Moribund RecordsRok wydania Kraj USANapisał Wouter6
Despite being around for well over a decade, only underground connoisseurs will recognize avant-garde black metal combo Azrael. Now, US black metal specialist label Moribund Records is re-issueing the band’s long out-of-print releases "Obdurate / Unto Death" on a single remastered cd. Azrael can be accurately described as minimalist black metal with ambient interludes, bands as Illdjarn, Leviathan, Striborg, Xasthur and the likes come to mind instantly upon hearing this caustic slab of underground madness. Although going through additional remastering for this re-release "Obdurate / Unto Death" still has an incredible basement bargain production with an inert thin guitar tone, horrible programmed drums and sparsely heard wailing synthesizers. Like Striborg the vocals are piercing and dramatic. The atmosphere is always dark and the record doesn’t go through the expected twists and turns of the genre, instead it goes a path all its own. While the avant-garde direction here is only hinted at, this path would Azrael later further explore and finally master. If the traditional black metal barriers were broken, this is where it first and originally happened. Azrael have rightly influenced current avant-garde and progressive black metal combos such as Brown Jenkins and Empire Auriga. Be sure to give this historical slab of forward thinking black metal a chance.
www.moribundcult.com
