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On disc: Azmaveth



Strong As Death - Claudia Ehrhardt - 7 stars


www.myspace.com/azmaveth







Strong As Death

Strong As Death
(Bombworks Records - 2008)


I already had my first encounter with a band from Trinidad - Tremor - and now it's time for my first experience with a band from Puerto Rico called Azmaveth. The band's lyrics are about their Christian beliefs, but also about what have been done in the name of God - any good. So not just about the Christian crusades, also about the Islamic terror we face these days.
Musically the combine elements of black and death metal, but also some thrash elements can be found. The album is quite short with about 33 minutes and it only has 6 songs plus an intro and outro as well as 5 interludes. The riff-based opening of A Mortal Way Of Life is obviously influenced by traditional heavy metal, but then they storm off and enter the black metal grounds. After the fast black metal part with scolding vocals they slow down and present a slow death metal passage - first with black metallic vocals, then with deep growls. Purists won't like their mix, but everybody who likes some variety should check the Puerto Ricans out! The fist interlude is offering some classic Spanish acoustic guitar, but with the crackling sound of an old vinyl. Then they kick off explosively A Cadaveristic Desire of the Human Perverse Condition which musically becomes a melodic, thrash-driven track with growls, then they speed of with hyperfast riffs - for a moment - and back to the slow passage. It's somehow like a battle of bands... a death metal band with a slow part vs. a black metal band with hyperfast riffs. And abruptly they stop. Quite interesting. With heavy riffs they kick off Stigma From Hell which is very powerful and makes it easy to get into the world of Azmaveth. They combine the different elements and this tune is really convincing. A real progress to A Mortal Way Of Life. Here they got a helping hand who adds some clean vocals - and this fits very well to their sound! They should think about using more clean vocals. With Master Of Light they show blasting riffs, but also some slower passages. Anyway, this one is more black metal then any other tune on this disc. The next song The Dark Lust Of The Rotten Soul is very heavy, almost doomy in the beginning, but as usual a black metal attack is following this. Same structure as the previous song, but in a different order. The track sticks out a bit due to the melodic part and the slow, almost balladesque passage with acoustic guitar. This passage shows the band totally different. And if they find a balance between the different sides, then they should be able to convince many metal heads with their next output!
Okay, the sound could be a bit more powerful, especially the drums, but it's okay. Some parts seem to be better structured, but if they continue the way they chose with Stigma From Hell, they might get their chance. This one is the most convincing track and shows them at the same level as any average black / death metal band, just that they add some other elements, too. And the interludes give the listener a short break, something not everybody will like, but it makes them differ and so the songs are really separated from each other. Not floating into each other like at other releases. So, the highlights are Stigma From Hell and The Dark Lust Of The Rotten Soul. If you like these tracks, but also some raw black metal stuff, then this is probably what you are looking for... Just go to their MySpace and check them out!


7 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

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           ©2008-2010 by Claudia Ehrhardt • E-Mail: contact@ice-vajal.com


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