Azaghal - Omega (2008)

Hyvinkää, Finland based band, Azaghal, seems to get the shaft in comparison to their Finnish brethren in Horna, Behexen and Satanic Warmaster, which is a bit odd to me considering the bands been around since the mid-90's and by today they have no less than nine full length albums as well as A LOT of splits and EPs over the years. Nevertheless, Azaghal are the sort of band that will more than likely change your perception of what bands from Finland are capable of and that's what makes them so great.

I will start out by telling you what Azaghal does 'not' sound like in terms of their music. You wont find that atmospheric rawer sound that Horna and Satanic Warmaster pull off so flawlessly, nor will you find the strong dark occult blasting of Behexen here, likewise you wont find the more symphonic direction bands like Alghazanth take. Azaghal's music is instead pretty much in your face, at all times! Their output is full of aggressiveness and a completely ferocious character that comes across with urgency and once it grabs your attention, it never lets go. Parts of it almost remind me of late 90's Marduk, but with a shit ton more character and that special Finnish charm. With two members of Wyrd also among their cult you'll also find some occasional traits from that band popping up here and there.

Azaghal

There are many positives in this album starting with the production. This is an album that sounds as big as the music is. You don't need a lot of volume to feel this effect, but if you have to blast it off your stereo don't say I did not warn you. To give you an idea of this effect, imagine yourself about 10-15 rows back if this band was playing in your living room. Needless to say, the recording is clean enough although there is a touch of raspiness that overall actually enhances the effect and does justice to the music. This goes along with the vocals which seem to have an echo effect on them with a very poisonous edge.

The guitars are also very good with nothing but brutal and very catchy riffs being unleashed here in each and every song. To give you an example, 'Quetzalcoatl' has a beautiful melodic part to it's ending while, 'Kuolonkäärme' is just a total headbanger with enough shredding to tear your house apart and 'Maailman Viimeinen Yö' is a bit slower in its initial delivery, but has a great solo mid-way through before returning to the familiar blasting. Drums are also worthy mentioning because some of the fills and patterns are (believe it or not) catchy. Unfortunately the bass is a bit lost in the mix which makes the music sound overall just a tad on the thin side. The keyboards are truly done here as ornament and do not interfere with the raspy and brutal music as they mostly just linger about in the background underneath all the chaos. The way they sometimes blend utterly pummeling black metal with underlining synth sort of reminds me of some of Nokturnal Mortum's earlier creations, which is only a good thing in my opinion.

All in all, this is a very good effort and also a valid barometer for where black metal is all about these days in Finland. The album sounds punchy, the tempo is varied throughout the songs so as to make it diverse and interesting, and frankly, it's a hammering and at the same time very memorable release. Bow, mother fuckers!