Search - Kult Ov Azazel :: Triumph of Fire

USBM is ascendant

diabolicalloki | Southern Vinnland | 08/20/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Throughout the 1990's, black metal was automatically associated with Scandinavia. Now, many of the former leaders of the underground have faltered, either watering down their music with pretentious intellectualism or calling it quits altogether. In the aftermath of this fallout, the American sceen finally seems to be getting some attention. Kult ov Azazel from Florida are one of the more well known names in US black metal, and one of the best. This recording is very raw, production is of fairly good quality, but the songs are violent and chaotic. Kult ov Azazel has a particular talent for forcing the aural equivalent of pure rage into every note they play. This is what sets Truimph of Fire apart from its peers. The arrangements are very complicated, featuring abrupt tempo and count changes, leading to a convoluted structure that speaks measures about what black metal was meant to be. Vocals are top notch and the lyrical content is assuredly lacking in pretentiousness. With releases like Triumph of Fire, the fledgling US black metal sceen will surely prove itself a worthy one."

Very Raw USBM

R. Beltran | Garden Grove, CA. USA | 12/11/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Kult Ov Azazel is one of the rawest USBM bands I've listened to in a long time. This album is intenely brutal from beginning to end. There's no atmospheric touches here, just an all-out assault that will shred your soul. After a while, the songs all sound the same. Try listening before you buy this."

2 stars for potential

Neil Ford | Sydney, Australia | 10/17/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The biggest problem with this CD is the recording, which makes it difficult to judge the actual music. The guitars are in the back of the mix, then the drums, and the vocals are prominent. It turns out this band has two vocalists, but unfortunately the genius producer has placed them in the same stereo position (slightly to the left, kick drums slightly to the right, same positions for every song), so you can't really differentiate them. It also doesn't help that all the words sound like "Yaaah! Yaa ya da yah yaah! Yaaaah!", all on the same note.



Although they are classified as black metal, the music itself could be death or thrash if the vocal was changed (same with Enthroned, whose live CD I recently heard) - not much necro atmos to be found. But their actual music is good (what I could hear of it) - good riffs and transitions, well played.



Kult ov Azazel are probably a fun band live, but their weaknesses show up on record (beneath the poor mix). On the basis of this recording, I think they should seriously consider getting a specialist vocalist in, who could add a bit of light and shade to the vocals, and maybe make the words more intelligible."