Black DayAZAZELLO |
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Azazello:
Tracklist: I have followed this album from the first private cassette release to finished CD. I received a private cassette release called "Cherniy Den" in 1998 by the Russian band Azazello. It was the first time I heard a Russian Prog Metal band, and I still haven't heard any other bands since then either. In 1999 I received a promotional preview CD of this album. The American label Moonchild Records had picked them up, and Brian Hirsch had done some digitally re-mastering before the CD-release. The original recordings were made in a cheap studio, so the sound quality wasn't the best. However the band wasn't satisfied with the new mixing so Moonchild had to do a new re-mix before the final release. Now I finally have the finished CD in my hands. This is basically the same album but with a much better sound than on the original cassette release on Volos Rec. Azazello are quite good musicians and their compositions are very good with complex rhythm changes and instrumental passages. The song titles are presented in English on the cover, but Azazello's album has been recorded with Russian lyrics. This is because Russia is a very big country, and it's probably there they have their biggest market. The band's is lead by Alexander Kulak who besides playing guitar also handles the vocals. He's also responsible for the main part of the compositions. Their biggest influence seems to be Dream Theater, but also bands such as Symphony X, Kansas, Marillion, Queensryche and Gorky Park to name a few. The highlight is the +10 minutes "Night Before The Christmas". I thing that Azazello has a good chance to be recognised even outside their native country. If you're into Prog Metal bands such as Dream Theater, and are brave enough to try out the Russian alternative, I recommend you to give this album a try.
Azazello Contact The
Official Azazello Homepage: http://www.progressor.net/azazello/ Moonchild
Records 2636 17th Ave. P.M.B. #188 Santa Cruz, CA 95065 USA Email to Azazello: azazello@moonchildartists.com -Reviewed by Greger Rцnnqvist- |
AZAZELLO |
| Azazello is: Alexander Kulak - Guitars, Vocals Idris Faridonoff - Drums Dima Bakay - Bass Vitos Afanasev - Keyboards This is the first Prog-Metal band I've heard from Russia. It's nice to hear that this kind of music is played in every corner of the world, and not only in Sweden, Germany, Japan and America. I don't know how many Prog-Metal bands there is in Russia, but Azazello have to be one of the premier bands there. They're are all quite good musicians and their music is high quality too. As with the majority of other Prog Metal bands, Azazello's biggest influence is Dream Theater. They're also influenced by bands such as Symphony X, Kansas, Marillion, Queensryche and Gorky Park to name a few. The main different is that Azazello's album has been recorded in the Russian language. Russia is a very big country so they have chosen to sing in Russian. I guess that it's very hard to reach outside their homeland too, so why bother to sing in English. It doesn't bother me though, because the music stands out for itself. The recordings are made in a cheap studio, so the sound quality is suffering a bit from that. But all in all, this is a very good album with good musicians, and I think that if they only get a chance, they would surely make it big outside Russia too. If you're into Prog Metal bands such as Dream Theater, and are brave enough to try out the Russian alternative, I recommend you to give this album a try. Unfortunately I don't have a clue how to get this album, but I guess that a good start would be to send an email to band member Alexander Kulak: a_kulak@hotmail.com Website : http://www.artrock.msk.ru/english/review/russian/azazello/azazello.htm -Reviewed by Greger R nnqvist- |
