Sohpomore album by ancient Finnish black metal cult Azazel official cassette released in BlvckKvffee Rex underground record label of Asia, Don't miss out on this modern classic of hate-filled black metal. Cult Satanic Finnish Black Metal.
Originally released in 2015 on CD format only, Witches Deny Holy Trinity followed swiftly - and smoothly, if such can enter into AZAZEL's world of chaos and ruin - from the band's long-awaited debut album, Jesus Perversions, just two years prior.
Compared to that record's ramshackle run through filth, fury, and most things bestial, Witches Deny Holy Trinity portrayed a more haunting and daresay "accomplished" version of AZAZEL. And the transition proved fortuitous, as the Finns continued to fine-tune their ancient vision of black metal and, if anything, delivered an album that's as classically 1990s as anything around.
Lots and lots of bands during the last 20 years tried to relight the old flame of the first wave of black metal, I mean, the Apocalyptic Raid spirit. Some of them were pretty successful, while others, well, were not very much. That leads to the simple and widely known conclusion: making good metal music is not just a question of copy and paste what the classic bands did in the past. Metal fans are always eager to hear something new, and if a band sounds exactly like something we heard thousands of times in the 80’s and the 90’s (not always with the same quality), then it is doomed to failure and oblivion.
I truly believe that’s not the case with Azazel’s Witches Deny Holy Trinity. I already gave it several spins, and I can’t just stop listening to it. It's so energetic, so loyal to the spirit of the old school black metal, that you may even distrust this album was released in 2015. And I understand if you judge it by simply reading the tracklist: Sacrifice Virgins To Satan Again, as a name, doesn’t seem to be very creative. But musically, it's an explosion of intense and relentless riffs, dissonant melodies and raw energy. The whole album follows the black/thrash vein of classics like Venom, Hellhammer and the 80’s Bathory. The songs flow fast, guided by an amazing guitar work. Drums are simple, but precise and technically suitable. Even sometimes when songs get a little doomy, there’s no disappointment: Azazel managed to develop catchy melodies that makes you get totally entranced while Lord Satanachia speaks evil things about the devil. What an atmosphere!
Speaking about him, Lord Satanachia’s vocals (I fucking love this name) are a show a part. I mean, the man is not a Mikael Åkerfeldt, but he sounds so evil and raw, that you cannot possibly imagine someone more suitable to fit the album’s atmosphere. Also, vocals are a bit loud in the mixing, which is not a bad thing at all, once you can understand almost everything he says and, lyrically, this is a pretty macabre album (Bloodbath At The Cemetery, Black Mass, Call of Belial, etc.).
And that’s why Witches Deny Holy Trinity sounds like it was born in the 80’s: it's not about being technically bad on purpose, just to sound old school (I’ve seen many bands doing this recently). In fact, riffs are pretty creative, catchy and in every way proportional to the music as a whole, so after the almost 40 minutes, you still want to bang your head to the tunes. Give this album a try. If you like names like Bathory, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Desaster, and others, I am sure you won’t regret.
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