Now Playing #23

Azarath - Praise the Beast

Behemoth fans probably know all about Azarath.  The band features Inferno on drums, and genre aside, he has got to be one of the best drummers alive.  I'm convinced that he was born with secret limbs, as I have no idea how he plays some of this stuff.  Anyway, Azarath traffics in slightly blackened death metal.  It's seared, really.  This was their fourth full-length album, and I pull it out every 10-12 months.  It's full of spasmodic riffs (lots of intermittent squeals) and martial beats that make you feel like you're in Hell's boot camp.  The vocals remind me of the dude from Krisiun, and before you chastise me for not knowing his name, do you even know his name without looking it up?  Sit down.  My favorite tunes would have to be "I Hate Your Kind" and "Queen of the Sabbath."  This record destroys.  Man, I wish Behemoth still played this kind of chiseled, face-removing death metal.  Hail Inferno.

Oskoreien - Hollow Fangs

As per usual, I don't know how I found out about this band.  Maybe Angrymetalguy?  This is their third album, a 2025 release that is determined to climb to the top of my eventual year-end list.  I've seen them listed as "post-black metal," but that's nonsense.  This is just melodic black metal, and off the top of my head, I can't draw any points of comparison.  It's a unique sound that pivots on the interplay between the lead and rhythm guitars.  I absolutely adore the clean, emotionally wrought solos that always seem to emerge at the right time.  It's a minor point, but I'm also a fan of the artwork.  Again, it's unique.  Check out "To Kiss the Viper's Fang" to get a feel for the material, which...I mean, there are only five songs.  You might as well listen to all of them.  I know I said I couldn't compare these guys to anyone, but the music does have the consistency of peach ice cream.  And Grima.

Hold up.  I did some online snooping, and apparently, Oskoreien has been tagged as "Cascadian black metal."  That's news to me.  Personally, I don't hear Panopticon or Wolves in the Throne Room on Hollow Fangs.  Now that I mention it, I don't think Panopticon counts as Cascadian either.  I thought it was a geographical branch of the metal ecosystem.  I don't know.  It has something to do with forests.