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Azrath-11 > Ov Tentacles and Spirals > Reviews
Azrath-11 - Ov Tentacles and Spirals

Multi-tentacled death metal - 78%

Lane, August 30th, 2021
Written based on this version: 2013, CD, Punishment 18 Records

Are you looking for otherworldly blackned death metal, perhaps? Do you revere H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos? And you do not loathe bands throwing in some melodiousness and very much varying tempos? If you're in for that kind of traits in death metal, then Italian chaos mongers Azrath-11 (or without dash, or Azrath XI) and their sophomore album 'Ov Tentacles and Spirals' might be exactly what you're searching for!

The 2011 debut album 'The Shrine ov All Hallucination' and I have never physically been at the same point of space and time, but I have telepathically probed it (well, some of its songs I listened on that tube thing, you know), and found it is pretty well "out there". Finding this second album was pure luck, basically. It was sold for pretty low price and a few snippets of it sounded cool, so I bought it. It happened so that the whole of it was good and would have been worth the full price. Something that does not happen but every now and then with these findings from bargaing bins, because I do not want to listen to whole albums before buying them. I still want to experience some suprising moments, whether positive or negative. And of course, the artwork as well as the lyrics.

While covering Morbid Angel's slithering classic 'God of Emptiness', A-11 do not really sound like them but here and there ('Surge' and its follower being good examples), or generally, US death metal styles. Instead they are clearly more influenced by Polish hordes like Behemoth, Vader and Lost Soul, and such practitioners of ominous, eerie and otherworldly sonical crudity. Ultra-blasting drums and tremolo or palm-muted guitar riffing (think and lacerating tone) meet slower parts, where two lead guitars interact, conjuring up mystical melodiusness, and the drums are used with imagination, serving some full kit experimentations (Naer Mataron's Asmodeus Draco Dux is the drummer here, and he also took part in songwriting). And sometimes mixing the other way around. Perhaps it's needless to mention that the songs mostly do contain progression. There's also full-on blasting stuff, like 'Maelstorm Descent', though.

Generally, this is definitely aggressive and bestial, but also odd and ominous, sometimes rather dissonant, blackened death metal. The music is multi-faceted (or perhaps multi-tentacled) and isn't easily ingested. Soundwise, this is clear and punchy (thanks to the audible bass guitar), but a bit too compressed; it definitely could be more airy for more voluminous atmosphere. A few sound effects, like churning sea and ominous horns, were added to boost Lovecraftian vibes, and there's some keyboards in carpet-style playing. The vocals are raspy throat growl in low and lower pitches, which is powerful enough, even though a bit low in volume at times. This fish-human voice is occasionally accompanied by more high-pitched growls, even with a few lines of clean hollering and chanting.

Azrath-11 are able to grasp a listener with their tentacles (now do I need to remind that this includes lyrics inspired by the Cthulhu mythos, thee who thought about them "tentacles"!?). Suitable cover artwork should catch eyes of those interested in horrors of the Great Old Ones. In this form, it is already lethal, if nothing totally unique; it has its characteristic, for sure, but also does not trample far at all from quite usual regimes. As this came out in 2013, it is nice to notice, that the band are finally tracking their next album. Bring forth the unearthly! Ia! Ia!

(Originally written for ArchaicMetallurgy.com)

Modern Death With an Old School Feel - 85%

TheStormIRide, March 25th, 2013

“Ov Tentacles and Spirals” is the second full length album from the Italian blackened death metal powerhouse, Azrath-11. Boasting current Naer Mataron drummer and busybody, Asmodeus Draco Dux, who has been associated with countless other metal acts, as well as current and former members of some relatively underground bands, Azrath-11 has the talented membership needed to succeed in this age’s blackened death metal field. With acts like Behemoth currently dominating the market with their somewhat modernized brand, Azrath-11 creeps in and shows the old stalwarts that a little old school flair never hurts.

The entire album is fast paced, with only slight lulls in the rapid fire delivery. There are tempo and timing changes throughout, but it usually involves the guitars switching from fast paced trem lines into fast paced, chunky riffing. Speaking of guitar lines, Azrath-11’s style of guitar riffing sounds like a mixture of standard Floridian death metal combined with the blackened approach of Behemoth or Belphegor. At times there are fast paced trem lines out of the wazoo, but the band seems more comfortable with the chunky riffing that wanders the fret board with little extrapolations thrown in. It’s a blazing fast affair, especially when coupled with the nonstop double bass runs and tittering cymbal work. These fast, triggered double bass runs sound a little plastic, but the somewhat hollow sound keeps it from feeling too mechanical.

Even with all of the ferocity and nonstop speed, there is a very melodic undertone at times. The riffs, aside from being catchy, build into some melodic passages, like on “Maelstrom Descent” and “Let the Realms Rise”, where the guitars lose distortion and twine along. Other sections see a little Thrash input, including the licks over main riffs at the beginning of “Domination ov the Streams”. These melodic moments are short lived, as Azrath-11 doesn’t leave things in neutral for very long. Mentioning the catchiness of the album, the chunky, heavy riffing has enough hooks and slight groove to it to keep any head banging. There are some passable lead lines, like at the middle of “Sunset ov the Abysmal Embrace”, but they lack confidence to make them stand out further than a passing nod.

The vocals sound a lot like standard tech-death bands, with a deep throaty shout. Much like Decapitated (think “Nihility”), the vocals do become a little tiring by the end of the album, mainly because of the one dimensional approach. Don’t get me wrong, the vocals are solid, but by the end of the album they become a little stale. On a different note, I’m not sure where these background vocals came from. Most of the tracks have a part with some guy doing his best Chuck Billy impression in the background. Although it doesn’t sound terribly forced, it really sounds out of place with the band’s version of blackened death metal.

Nothing on “Ov Tentacles and Spirals” is new or groundbreaking by any stretch of the imagination: not the music; not the instrumentation; not the production. The entire production screams old school, especially the chunky yet endearingly hollow sound of the drums. While it does have an old school feel to it, the music itself has some modern edges, including the Behemoth inspired riffing and the plastic feel of the triggered drums. Finishing off with a cover of Morbid Angel’s “God ov Emptiness” is just a little icing on the cake. Azrath-11’s sophomore effort is a high quality effort that should please fans of polished blackened death metal while retaining an old school feel. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then by all means find it.

Written for The Metal Observer:
http://www.metal-observer.com