I had great expectations with the release of the new album of KULT OV AZAZEL, great deals of anxiety and curiosity.
Even when purists question the authenticity, honesty and even the talent of many Black Metal bands from USA, we can always find good examples of highly developed, inspired and in this particular case, extreme and smashing BM.
The World, The Flesh & The Devil is what I would call a good point of reference for a band that has been improving and maturing their music continuously. At some point in the past, KULT OV AZAZEL seemed to be way too influenced by other bands, even to the point of accurate emulation of sound and style. Luckily, they have reached new levels this time, demonstrating their talent and passion when it comes to improve their music.
In this latest release, the band is consistent, brutal and deadly decided; they take it to the extreme without hesitate. Songs like As Temples Burn, The Calling Forth and Compelled To Die are good examples of extreme black metal brutality without concessions; this tracks have (as expected) hyper-fast drums, elaborated but extreme guitar riffs and raging Christ-raping vocals.
A good point is that even when this album’s tempo is almost always set to hyper-fast, KULT OV AZAZEL still takes the chance to experiment with different kinds of guitar riffs and drum speeds that contrast dramatically with the rest of the songs; my favorite track entitled Trampling The Cross, is a good example of that since it’s much slower than the rest of the songs, and the guitar riff is way different from the rest, this adds variation and re-freshens the whole album. The whole experiment was a notable success.
Perhaps the only weak point in this production is how they lowered the volume of some other instruments or how they got watered down in the process of recording. The bass for example, at some points is inaudible; I lost it in the storm and sometimes good moments of drum work get absorbed by other elements.
KULT OV AZAZEL is going strong, they have grown and improved lots for this album and I have no doubt that their work will be more appreciated and correctly valuated after this.
The World, The Flesh & The Devil is the current picture of a band that, in time, have found the way to do things right, revealing themselves as one of the most promising extreme acts of the United States Black Metal scene by their own merits.