Azoth - Demo 2005
Self Financed
Technical Death Metal
3 songs (14'00)
Release year: 2005
Azoth
Reviewed by Ben

Azoth is a local band here in San Antonio and unlike most other local acts they have forayed into the technical death metal realm. This three track demo is their first recorded release and has some promising elements to it. The bass work is what will draw the most attention as there are little to no “simple” bass lines. Taking a cue from bands such as Zero Hour the fret work here is all over the place with ascending and descending scales and riffs that duck and weave around the songs rather than sit in the background. In contrast, most of the guitar riffs are simple and meaty. Sometimes there are moments that bring to mind Swedish Death Metal and other times there are all out black metal inspired licks. Vocals are a mixed bag with harsh barks, clean choirs, and layered screeches and wails. They fit the style of the music quite well yet there are times where more emotion would enhance the impact of the song. They carry the melody efficiently enough but I suspect the singer has more in his singing repertoire than what is presented here. My only big gripe would have to be the keyboards. Either they are executed just right (the harpsichord intro to Lord Humility) or are off completely (the solo in Star Whores). Dream Theater like keyboard solos sound completely out of place and tend to make the listener scratch his head in confusion rather than draw a positive reaction.

This demo is a promising start for Azoth. No it is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination yet the positive aspects outweigh the negative. Technical music performed well is hard to come by and Azoth is one of the few bands that are taking a stab at it. Given time and the proper distribution they could quite possibly reach the audience they need to solidify themselves in the scene properly.

Killing Songs :
Lord Of Humility, Star Whores
Ben quoted no quote
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