Azarath, Praise the Beast

Featuring Behemoth‘s maniacal skinman, Inferno, this Polish death metal outfit deliver 11 uncompromising, bruising tracks in the vein of Vader and the aforementioned Behemoth. But is Azarath‘s Praise the Beast just more of the same? Is it simply another clone?

Once you get past the initial intro in the form of “Summoning,” you’re sure to hear similarities, but they are far from carbon copy riffs and rhythms. There is a fury and rawness that has been missing recently from the big boys of Polish death metal. Sure, those guys still deliver the goods, but they’ve also got a more polished, commercial sound. Azarath, however, remain in the shadows of obscurity, oozing malevolence and evil, delivering burly riffs and blasting rhythms.

The guitars are thick and full of pure, unadulterated death metal. The drums, as you would expect, are spot on and definitely shine as a highlight of the album. Deep, guttural vocals spew forth the band’s message of unholiness and hatred. All together, the parts of Azarath mean business, pure and simple.

Summoning
Distant thunder and chanting fill this introductory track for just under a minute.

I Hate Your Kind
“I Hate Your Kind” gets things off to a chugging part with thick riffs, pick squeals and rapid fire drum work. The overall tone is dark and suffocating as the deep vocals come in with vehemence. I love the military like cadence to the drums around the 1:30 mark as the guitars drive along nicely. The vocals show some nice range, hitting a slightly higher scream around the three minute mark, working well with the standard deep growls. Having never heard these guys before, this was definitely a decent introduction to the band.

Sacrifice of Blood
After “I Hate Your Kind” fades out, this next one explodes with pile driving drums and bruising riffs along with layered growls. There are some well placed tempo shifts throughout the song to keep you on your toes. This is one of those tracks that just begs to be blasted at full volume. The lead at 2:35 is a nice touch even as it succumbs to a massive break down with chanted vocals. The drum work during this section is like that of an oncoming tornado — unavoidable and malevolent.

Invocation
The opening to “Invocation” is instantly memorable with great guitar work and savage drums. A huge growls comes in as the band gets into a pummeling groove. The high guitar picking before the lead at :55 is a bit odd, but I’m digging the higher end, raspy vocals. The aforementioned lead is sick as hell. There’s a groove through this song that reminds me of some of the stuff that Bloodbath has been putting out. The riffing and manic drum work after the two minute mark is badass and will have you throwing horns in the air in no time. This is becoming one of my favorite tracks on the album.

Praise the Beast
Holy hell, the title track gets off to a rampant start with some impressive as hell drum work and driving riffs. This song is evil as fuck. “Praise the Beast” is a one way trip straight into the depth of Satan’s gullet, careening at full throttle with blasting drums and layered vocals. This is a sick song. I’ve played this track several times in a row now — it’s killing the amount of time I have to do reviews tonight.

Queen of the Sabbath
“Queen of the Sabbath” starts off slowly building up to the :40 mark where the guttural vocals come in with a galloping rhythm. There are times, though, on this song where the flow feels a bit disjointed. I know that’s by design, but it messes with me a bit. There are some seriously creepy layered chants around 2:20 that you know are all about the welcoming of the end and the lord of the dark himself.

Azazel
Crushing drums and thick guitars join the deep vocals to get this next song off to a raucous start. Right from the opening blast, “Azazel” doesn’t let up until you’re left a withering husk of your former self when the song finishes. The ending of this one is just as furious as the opening few seconds. Definitely a must hear.

Unholy Trinity
“Unholy Trinity” starts off with distant, tribal drums and rain sound effects before some massive riffing comes in at the 20 second mark. The guitar work around the one minute mark is rather light, but still has plenty of vileness to it. Once the vocals come in with a quicker cadence the blasting drums push the band’s message forcibly into your skull. There’s plenty of guitar activity throughout this song to keep even the most ADD affect listener entertained.

Obey the Flesh
Thundering drums and quick fingered riffing greets the listener as a slick lead explodes at :18. The vocals shift and are layered with higher end shrieks to give “Obey the Flesh” a bit more of a dynamic sound — on top of the off-kilter guitars and rapid fire drums. This is a wild track. The series of leads just before the two minute mark are chaotic and impressive as hell.

Throne of Skulls
That’s funny. I’m sitting on my own throne of freshly bleached brain buckets as I work on this review. At any rate, I love the opening riff work as this one gets down to business. That and the vocals have a great cadence to them that screams, death metal groove. Man, this song is catchy as all get out, even with the churning chorus and machine gun blasts. The lead at 1:30 is sweet.

From Beyond the Coldest Star
The final track fades in quickly from the distance with memorable riffing and steady drum work. The wavering guitar just before the one minute mark is an interesting touch. This two and a half minute long instrumental has some seriously technical chops to it and is a nice way to wrap up the album.

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Favorite Tracks:
All of them

Additional Notes:
N/A