Munich based Black Metal band AZAVATAR started up just two years ago, with this year seeing the release of their self-titled debut. This album that has a total run-time just shy of an hour, despite containing just five songs, so it's a nice chunky release too. My first impression just from reading through the song titles was already tinged with a bit of scepticism however: in my experience, Black Metal bands who go out of their way to show off how "trve" and "kvlt" they are typically produce egocentric nonsense. However, AZAVATAR thankfully proved to be the exception to this, perhaps even using such song titles as an ironic commentary on the Black Metal scene today. Made up from seasoned musicians, these guys are ready to take the world by storm, very much proven by this first opus.

Right from the very start, the listener is assaulted with a blitzkrieg-like barrage of pounding drums, powerful riffs, gravely vocals, and frantic-paced tempos. With some very primordial riffs forming the foundation for the less turbulent portions of "Kvlt", the ending of this song is very unexpected, sounding like a cassette player that just ate the tape. A chaotic bombardment of thunderous proportions decimates all in its path, whilst discordant and eerie passages provide an uneasy tension in the song "Kaos", marking it as a definite highlight of the album. The pace gets taken down a notch in "Kvrse", a trend that is more or less continued for the rest of the album, with the exception of the final song "Krypt". Although this too has it's slower parts, this reduced tempo is interspersed with more aggressive and esoteric parts, forming a really bizarre mix that keeps you captivated throughout. The drumming in particular bears mentioning, with an absolutely formidable machine sitting on the throne; I very much look forward to hopefully catching AZAVATAR live, as it will be interesting to see if they can pull of music of this magnitude live too.

The final song "Krypt" is proof of exactly what the band is capable of in terms of throwing together different elements and melding them into a bombastic whole that just strikes you like an irresistible tempestuous maelstrom, which makes it all the more a pity that "Azavatar" can get slightly long-winded in parts. Whilst repetitiveness can be used well to build up an atmosphere, it nevertheless would have been nice to hear slightly more variation, particularly in the slight slump found mid-album. Still this is a very strong release that will undoubtedly garner much support for the band. If you're into your Black Metal, but tired of everyone playing in the same old worn-out style, give AZAVATAR a listen for something refreshingly different.