In Extremis

Polish extreme metal legends Azarath returned after a six-year hiatus with In Extremis, which is a fitting title because this album is most definitely extreme. The riffs are very heavy, the drumming is at lightning speed, and the vocals are deathly and organic. The songs have to do with death, the production is very clean and the playing is hectic, frenzied, and tight. All of the qualities that constitute a pretty good death or black metal album in the 2010s are here in spades, but there is a limitation with how diverse this sound can be when it's been beaten to death so many times.

The band generally writes some pretty cool stuff, like "Let My Blood Become His Flesh," which has a cool concept and the vocals absolutely kick ass on. "The Slain God" is probably the best number on this record, a song that hits a pretty catchy groove before the drums blast into overdrive with tons of interesting fills. The spoken-word commands at the end of the song sound harrowing and add a lot to the track as well. Azarath usually has a good ear for little effects that add a lot to the music. The guitar riffs on this album fluctuate between standard for the genre and some catchy riffs, an example of the catchy ones being "Parasu Blade," a song that is compact and well-written. Most of the time, the band makes sure that the songs don't overstay their welcome, and there are enough instrumental changes in each song to keep them fresh and interesting.

For the most part, this album runs closer to death metal than it does black metal. The guitar tone and the drumming sounds closer to the brutal death metal sounds of the 'nineties, a lot like Suffocation or Incantation, while the vocals bridge the gap between the two sounds. Vocalist Necrosodom employs some interesting vocal techniques, like on "Sign of Apophis," The band plays to his vocal style well, although they could have chilled out a little bit on the drum fills. The instrumentation is good, but the band better works better when his vocals are the focal point. The guitar solos on this record are good, not great, although there is quite a bit of whammy bar that is unexpected for the style they're going for. Surprisingly, the guitar solos that use this are generally the best.

This isn't a bad album at all, it just isn't one of the best by Azarath. It's heavy, it's intense, it's extreme, but it's not reinventing the wheel or even bringing a new direction for Azarath's career. For the most part, the band plays it safe and writes what they know will stick as catchy, brutal death/black metal songs that wrap up in four minutes apiece. There's nothing wrong with that, but don't come into this album expecting to hear anything new.