Album Review: Azaab - Summoning the Cataclysm
Reviewed by Sam Jones
When we think about what countries we expect Extreme Metal to come out of, Pakistan probably isn’t one of the go-to examples. Places like Israel, Lebanon etc have slowly been pumping out the odd metal band and album here and there but somewhere like Pakistan is a new one, at least in my books. Formed in 2017 the band play a style of Progressive Death Metal that is likely see them offer us a nice balance of hard hitting songwriting with some moments of more nuanced playing. Their first Single dropped within the same year before following it up with their second Single, in 2019. However another three years down the line, and the band have finally been able to give us their debut studio album. The main reason I chose this album to review was primarily, its location. This is an unconventional nation to hear Extreme Metal come out from and, considering how geography and culture can influence a band’s sound, I was pretty curious to see what Azaab would have up their sleeves for me.
I really liked how this album opened out at the start, it doesn’t just explode upon the first note. Azaab give us a nice introductory piece that doesn’t just fall to the wayside, nor is it forgotten as some generic opening segment. It’s a synth-laden opus that eases us into the band before then providing us with the more powerful performance we are expecting. Granted it’s only two minutes long but, it does what it needs to do in good time before getting things underway properly. What struck me pretty soon however, was the sharp clarity that the band manage to strike with. That’s not to say the band have adopted a super clean aesthetic to their performance either, the band demonstrate a compact yet in-your-face vibe. It’s like the band have been in their mixing studio and took it upon themselves to ensure all their performances popped out for all to take in, there’s no threat of one element drowning the other here.
Chief among these are the drums which I felt really managed to stand out amidst the guitar and bass work. What’s more is how they’re able to stand out against an otherwise excellent death metal vocal delivery at the same time; now the drums here don’t unleash anything you haven’t heard before but it’s the thickness they appear to harness that renders them with such vigour. When these drums come bearing down on you, the residual sound they emit seriously drags you into the midst of this record. Tom-toms feel like their skin has been made readily taut, strikes are inbound and bounce off the drums with ease and power. There’s no mistaking their presence here, the drums pound through the all the collective energies the rest of the band provide without making them appear less impactful at the same time.
The guitar work in general I particularly enjoyed not simply because I found it inventive and different, not to mention also nicely written where the songwriting wasn’t just some splurge of death metal that was merely regurgitated. The guitar tone at times greatly reminded me of what a live guitar sounds like when instruments are being readied on the stage before the band themselves come on or when a guitar roars into life before the band kick into another track. The riffs and guitar work in general here possess that live quality that sees reverb and lingering static hang in the air above speakers and such before it’s replaced by the band going into overdrive. As a result, Azaab give their sound a uniquely organic aesthetic that isn’t easily replicated elsewhere because many other records can carry that overproduced and deliberate quality whereas Azaab herein, allow their sound to play out naturally with one less hand on the steering wheel if you will.
Returning to a mentioned point regarding songwriting, I particularly enjoyed how Azaab managed to nicely balance their sound out between a death metal onslaught and a more nuanced and thoughtful performance. There are equal moments of each in all honesty to help us throughout the record’s duration; you’ll get periods where album’s power dramatically rises with skews of double bass drumming, meaty riffs etc but then you’ll also get more intricate and laid out songwriting that definitely alludes to the band’s sensibilities and what they want their band to be affiliated with. Azaab aren’t just attacking their audience like cavemen with clubs, they’ve got ideas and they know how to at least try and implement them through songwriting that feels alive and planned.
In conclusion, I found this to be a solid offering of death metal which was able to strike a healthy balance between hard hitting and carefully written. It’s interesting that the band never sided with one aspect completely and instead opted for that middle of the road style of performance. Sometimes I find that if bands go for this approach it results in their records feeling like they’re without identity. But Azaab certainly possess identity and personality, it does stand out from many of this year’s releases so far. Pakistan is not your go-to nation for metal releases and the fact that we’ve even got a metal release in the vein of Summoning The Cataclysm out from the band is a feat unto itself. More and more Middle Eastern nations are slowly pushing their own brand of extreme metal bed now we can add Pakistan to that list as well. Ultimately, I’d like to hear more from Azaab and where they can take their sound next, I’m hoping there’s much more the band could give us in the future. This record is a good way to allow them to hit the ground running.
