Band:	Azaghal
Album:	Nemesis
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	January 31, 2012
A review by:	Troy Killjoy

01. In Deathlike Silence
02. Pohjoisen Valkoinen Kuolema
03. De Masticatione Mortuorum
04. Vihasta Ja Veritöistä
05. Hail The Whore
06. Ex Nihilo
07. The Baying Of The Dead
08. Nemesis
09. Black Legions Of Satan
10. The Pit Of Shoggoths
11. Satanic Devotion

So I heard you were busy looking for the next Oranssi Pazuzu or ...And Oceans. Something a little progressive, maybe a little psychedelic, overly melodic, heavily atmospheric... well, I'm here to tell you that you might as well just look somewhere else.

Azaghal are what you'd call a consistent band. For over 10 years they've been shelling out the same sort of archetypal raw Finnish black metal you'd expect from the likes of Horna or Behexen. And that's all well and good if that's what you're looking for. Not so much if you wanted some experimental instrumental interplay or whatever.

Nemesis is the band's umpteenth release and if you're in any way familiar with the band's sound, you won't be surprised by anything you hear this time around. Azaghal have a formula that works for them and they make sure not to wander the vast plains of black metal trying to figure out what totally new and original influences they can incorporate into their sound. Instead, you get exactly what they want to give you.

Not to separate themselves from the foundation of what makes black metal "black metal", these Finns get things started early and leave you without any question marks. You'll be exposed to furious blastbeats, chainsaw riffs with bits and pieces of melody, and excellent work behind the mic. Kind of what you'd expect from pretty much any straightforward black metal album. And that's not to say it's a bad release, or even "dull" or "boring". It just is what it is: black metal.

And it's a pretty fucking long black metal album at that. Almost an hour? There isn't really enough variation to sustain the average listener's attention span, but there is enough spite and aggression to help you cool down after finding out that your non-returnable 1500 dollar plasma screen is now being sold for 300 bucks to make room for the latest model. You just bought that shit last week bro! What the fuck.

This could also make for a pretty decent soundtrack to you walking into Future Shop, seeking out the rat bastard who withheld that crucial information, and therapeutically stabbing him in his fucking head 23 times in self-defense. There's a couple riffs in particular on songs like "Hail the Whore" that really make me want to defecate on an overweight Future Shop employee's decomposing body.