In less than two weeks, New Zealand ear-bleeders, DAWN OF AZAZEL, will drop their The Tides Of Damocles full-length upon the living. A name referencing the ocean as a metaphor for the forces of life that constantly assail and erode the will of those who seek power, The Tides Of Damoclesmarks the trio’s first new compositions in six years. Recorded, mixed and mastered last year at Mana Recording Studios (Cannibal Corpse, Hate Eternal, Goatwhore, et al) in Tampa, Florida by Brian Elliot and J.J. Hrubovcak, the ten track creation offers up forty-eight battering minutes of brutal, scrupulously detailed death metal deviltry.
Said Kill Your Stereo in an early review of the record, “The Tides Of Damocles is aggressive, brutal while still incorporating grooves and melodies to make a more modern and progressive sound for DAWN OF AZAZEL. The blast beats are furious, the vocals raw and emotional and all backed up by driving riffs and solos. This album is definitely a standout work for a band appealing to a large fan base.”
Following No Clean Singing’s premiere of the Scott Rudd (Aborted, Acrania, Fit For An Autopsy)-produced “Vassalplasty” lyric video, still sullying the interwebs at THIS LOCATION, today Skulls ‘N’ Bones hammers faces in with a taste of “Controlled Burn,” the band elaborating, “‘Controlled Burn’ is one of the first songs we wrote for the album. We incorporated a wide range of tempos and probably the closest thing to a hooky chorus on the album on this track. Lyrically, it is a rejection of comfort, ease and familiarity, choosing to burn them to the ground in favour of the power, wisdom and confidence that is found the in the ashes of hardship, uncertainty, pain and toil. The greatest treasures are born of fire.”
Adds Skulls ‘N’ Bones, “Since 1999, DAWN OF AZAZEL has written some of the most intense and aggressive music in our scene, and The Tides Of Damocles is a culmination of all of those years thrown into one album. It’s their most diverse record yet, but don’t let that fool you, it’s still as crushing as ever.”
Listen to DAWN OF AZAZEL’s “Controlled Burn” Below:
DAWN OF AZAZEL will bring their bestial compositions to the stage on a slew of live incursions through New Zealand and Australia with future live demolitions to be announced shortly.
DAWN OF AZAZEL:
4/18/2015 Napier Deathfest – Napier, NZ
4/23/2015 The King’s Arm Tavern – Auckland, NZ w/ Napalm Death, Carcass
5/02/2015 The King’s Arm Tavern – Auckland, NZ w/ Suffocation, Decapitated
7/04/2015 Rust In Perth 2015 – Perth, AU
8/29/2015 Living Death Fest 2015 – Melbourne, AU
Influenced by the audio violence of bands like of Order Of Chaos, Immolation and Sarcofago,DAWN OF AZAZEL was forged in 1999 and rapidly established themselves with relentless live shows throughout New Zealand and Australia. The release of two demos and a 7″ received widespread acclaim within the underground fanzine and tape trading community. DAWN OF AZAZEL would later release their debut, the volatile The Law Of The Strong, though Agonia Records in 2003 followed by an extensive tour through New Zealand, their first ever shows in Europe and a headlining tour of Australia. Second full-length, Sedition, was unleashed via Ibex Moon and found the band playing over one-hundred-and-twenty shows touring first through Thailand, Indonesia, and the U.S., followed by thirty-two shows through Europe supporting Immolation. Australian tours with Deicide, Katyklysm and support slots on their homeland for Motörhead, Korn, Suffocation and Children Of Bodom capped off a year and a half of live bedlam to support the album. The band’s infamy was further bolstered by the controversial mix of the band’s violent and Satanic lyrical content and frontman Rigel Walshe’s occupation as a police officer becoming the subject of television and newspaper coverage at home and abroad.
Seeking a level of professionalism that could not be found at home, the band entered Erik Rutan’s famed Mana Studios in Tampa, Florida to record their third offering, Relentless, released via Unique Leader Records. Live journeys alongside Krisiun as well as support slots for Megadeth, Suffocation, Aborted, The Faceless, Necrophagist, Dying Fetus, Morbid Angel, and Slayer ensued. Shortly after its release, Walshe was offered a position of a covert nature within the police department. During this period from 2010 through 2013 the band went on hiatus and focused on creating new material, re-gearing their personal circumstances to enable them to take the band to greater heights. 2013 was spent composing new material, and in early 2014 the band once again entered Mana Studios to record their fourth album The Tides Of Damocles.
The Tides Of Damocles will be released independently via the official DAWN OF AZAZELBandCamp page at THIS LOCATION on April 28th, 2015 and come available digitally and as a stunning, deluxe, six-panel digipack with 20-page booklet. Preorder your copy today.
“Blunt ‘n’ belittling malevolence, mathy yet molten in nature, prepare to meet your new masters: New Zealand’s DAWN OF AZAZEL” – Terrorizer Magazine
