Azaghal – Alttarimme On Luista Tehty

Written by on 07-04-2024 at 22:20.

Dear readers, sometimes there are those moments or those days when things simply pass or just don’t pass. Last year, in the blessed year 2023, more than 200 records passed my eardrums for review. During that year Finnish Azaghal released Alttarimme On Luista Tehty, their twelfth album. Like a number of other releases from last year brought to us by the Belgian label Immortal Frost Productions this album had not yet been written about by one of our editors. So finally, here it is!

It should not be that the pioneers and forefathers of Finnish black metal, together with a lot of other bands of course, get forgotten. Their previous album, Valo Pohjoisest, dates back to 2018. Colleague Bart described the black metal of this Finnish band as follows: “Satanic, evolving positively, but without being overly technical or progressive.” And as it so often happens, colleague Al Foet hit the nail on the head and so doing a bit further through the palms of Lord Jesus. Add to this the fact that Azaghal doesn’t make things complicated at all and actually keeps the songs structure very clear on this album as well.

If you want to learn Finnish or refine your Finnish, you can actually get to it right away. The title song grabs you by the throat in a grimy way. The deliciously rough vocal work is picked up a few seconds later by fast blasting and a typically Finnish cutting melody. The song, actually the whole song and by extension the entire album, is peppered with nice rhythm changes that at one time create a punk and at other times a black ‘n’ roll feeling. A song like Kultti, for example, is varied with a lot of dynamics so that, initially, you have to get used to the different tension arcs in this relatively short song. Paholaisen Musta Kieli has some peculiar drum fills that nevertheless bite away quite nicely, partly due to a grimy and dirty bass guitar sound. Some paganesque solo work can be enjoyed in Syöpäläinen.

The Finns of Azaghal are back at the forefront of raunchy, dirty and explicitly rotten black metal. Don’t get me wrong: the gentlemen know how to alternate genres perfectly because in addition to black metal Azaghal treats us to punk, black ‘n’ roll and even pinches of paganism. In this context record number twelve, Alttarimme On Luista Tehty, is a more than enjoyable piece of extreme, blackened metal.

Score:

80/100

Label:

Immortal Frost Productions, 2023

Tracklisting:

  1. Alttarini On Luista Tehty
  2. Kuolemanmarssi
  3. Kultti
  4. Paholaisen Musta Kieli
  5. Myrkkyä
  6. Kaaos
  7. Syöpäläinen
  8. Syvyydestä Liekkien Takaa
  9. Verivirta
  10. Ei Valoa Tuonelassa
  11. Seitsemän Ihmisen Irvikuvaa

Line-up:

  • Narqath – Guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, vocals
  • Lima – Drums
  • Thirteen – Vocals

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