Kult ov Azazel "Oculus Infernum" CD
[Arctic]
Ahhh, raging black metal from Florida. I was pretty into their last full-length, and I think I like this one a bit more. It's definitely along the same lines as far as focusing on intense speeds and blistering, hateful vocal screams (often layered), but the songwriting is more intense. They're including more of a melodic slant (but not in a cheesy way, in the classic black metal sense) and a few slower passages that are more in line with traditional black metal (which this record definitely seems to be more in touch with), and I like that a hell of a lot. "Invoking the Infernal Majesty" is one of the only slower tracks, and its plodding tempo immediately hits with incredible force and stands out from the pack as one of the darkest and most epic compositions herein. Running a close second is the dissonant break with some brief samples mixed in amongst the title track, which is fucking incredible! At the end of the disc, after numerous tracks of silence, track #66 (Why do so many bands find that 66 becomes equal to 666 on CD's?) is an awesome unlisted cover of Beherit's "Black Arts". Very cool. Though "Oculus Infernum" suffers from some of the same recording problems as their last record, this time I feel that they're slightly more minor. The overall feel is great, it's not really as crisp or clean sounding. It seems like the band was definitely going for more of a raw and primal sort of sound, but if they'd only stop using those tight, rigid drum tones this would be the perfect sound for a black metal record. The kick drums are so inhuman that I would almost swear that it's a drum machine on occasion, I don't think it's possible for a human to do double bass that fast. It literally sounds like they just set a machine on fast double bass and let it roll while a live drummer plays with his hands to do everything else, because the fills and such sound less clinical. Thankfully the percussion is mixed back in fairly well, and they did make the bass far more prevalent here, and that pays off big time. I'd like to hear louder guitars with a bit less vocal dominance, but again, overall it's a stronger mix than was heard on "Triumph of Fire". The layout is again excellent. This band absolutely has a feel for visual aesthetics. Their last record looked great as well, but I like this one better. It takes the dark, grim black and white traditions of black metal and ups the ante a bit with modern design tactics (metallic silver ink, creative fonts, interesting text arrangement, etc.) and a slick sort of appearance. There's a lot of image of torture devices, old woodcuts of devils and demons torturing people, and other such illustrations blended with sketchy fonts that pack the letters in tight and look very cool. Hell, I even like the lyrics. As far as black metal goes this is some involved and angry material, often containing far longer and less repetitive lines than is common. "I bring world demise, To take what's mine, Angels will die, Behold your savior sacrificed, Destroyed by hordes of demonic warriors, Apocalypse for hell's first born, I curse you all to eternal damnation, Align with evil, Possessed by hell, Summoned from chthonic lands, In league with Satan, Assassin of light, To rule a kingdom without end, Destroyer to man, Lord of this world, King of hell in the highest form." Not bad at all. Definitely worth checking out for fans of the genre. My only complaint is that I want a more natural drum sound. These guys are only a few steps away from being one of the few American bands to truly achieve the heralded atmosphere of black metal. (7/10)
Running time - 38:00 (approximately), Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Rex Infernus in Excelsis, Invoking the Infernal Majesty, Oculus Infernum, Black Arts]
Kult ov Azazel - http://www.kultovazazel.com

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