In Norway we are witnessing a Polish “invasion” right now, in form of workers that is. I’ve used the opportunity to drop some names among them to find out if Metal is known by the general Pole, but the search hasn’t been ripe with fruits yet; with the exception of one, I haven’t met any who’s even heard of VADER or BEHEMOTH. This guy who had, even sang KREATOR karaoke on a party arranged by the scaffolding firm I’m working for, a performance I never saw. Those who did, said he did a really good job. I believe them.

AZARATH is yet another addition to the ranks of Polish Death Metal bands, and they added themselves to that roster in 1998. They’ve released some records here and there but I’ve never been contaminated by them before. Therefore it was a semi-great joy to behold the razor sharp and blast heavy perfection that unfolded itself after a short intro. It feels especially good since I’ve encountered many poor to mediocre Death Metal bands as of late.

To prove that we are dealing with quality shit here, only one “name” needs to be mentioned, Inferno. I’m not a fan of nicknames and pseudonyms but this guy deserves his. He should be known by most already as the drummer of BEHEMOTH, and also as one the best Death Metal has to offer. I’m not saying he is the world’s best or anything (none are), but he is certainly in the elite league of skin bashers. His performance for AZARATH is just as flawless as we’re used to, serving as the ultimate backbone with ferocious energy. This guy knows that he’ll sleep forever when his collection of cells decide they had enough, and have obviously decided to make a hell lot of noise while he’s still able. I salute such an attitude.   

On the fly, I can’t come up with a band that AZARATH reminds me a lot of, but that doesn’t make them particularly original or groundbreaking. Anyway, what’s on the menu is blast heavy Death Metal with great production values and skilled instrumentalists. Not only are they great musicians, they know how to come up with interesting shit to play as well. Such combinations generate high scores.

Those who crave pure heaviness aren’t the ones most likely to dig this shit, but fans of ANGEL CORPSE and later-era BLOODTHORN, should certainly be on the look-out for this fine-tuned machinery of Polish death (with Black Metal oil, that is).

(Online May 20, 2007)