Tracks 8-12 are bonus tracks from 1992 rehearsal tape.
Recorded at Damnation, located in the basement of Satanachia's grandparents' house.
Azazel are a Finnish black metal band that have a bit of a following in the country, especially with their latest releases. However, before that, they released their first demo in 1993 titled "Crucify the Jesus Christ Again". This sounds like it would be a wicked demo, and we certainly do get some of that here. However, it's not all fun and games here to put it lightly.
To see what I mean, let's check out the instruments first. The opening track with some deep growls toppled with some dark ambient sounds, which is a decent opener that is great at leading the listener in with its mysterious atmosphere. It then cuts to the next track "In Nomine Dei Nostri Satanas", which is where things get disturbing. The guitar riffs sound very raw, and while it does play some dark and disturbing tunes, they do feel a bit standard for the time. The drumming is also very basic, as its simple beat patterns play throughout the track. The bass, however, is non-existent due to the poor production, so the track has to rely on the guitars for its foundation, which it does okay, but it's clear that it needs some additional help from the bass. The overall atmosphere is dark and intense, and it is executed decently on this track. However, I'm not kidding when I say that the rest of the demo sounds like this, as besides a couple of variations, all of the songs sound the same from the others. That, plus some odd choices in composition, and it does kind of underwhelm the blasphemous attitude that was from the first track.
On the other hand, the vocals are also okay. The vocals from Satanachia are very varied and dynamic, which is already a far-cry from the one-note style from the instrumentals. Satanachia's vocals range from deep growls to high-pitched shrieks, and while they're both good, the growling is actually better than the shrieks. A good example of this is in the track "Ancient Ones Rules Us All Again", in which the growls add in to the intensity of the dark riffs and drums, whereas the shrieks sound a bit tedious and not really doing much towards the atmosphere. Satanachia does provide a good vocal performance overall, though he's clearly stronger at one vocal element compared to others.
Overall, this demo was pretty good, but could use some improvements. I would've loved to see more variations of the tracks instead of sounding so similar to the others, and maybe even polish up the production a bit since it can be a bit much. Otherwise, I do suggest checking out the demo for yourself, though I would much prefer it if you check out their later full-length albums instead.
Sample: youtube.com/watch?v=-VQvwIgrK2Y
