AZATH is a 4-Piece Death Metal Band from California and from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This is their first full-length album as they released a demo back in 2018. For people that did not know, the band takes its name and lyrical content from Steven Erikson's fantasy books called ''Malazan : Book of the Fallen''. I honestly don't know this author at all so all of this is new to me obviously.

I was rather impressed by the use of the lead guitars on this opus. On ''Knight of Chains'', I love the homage to Dimebag Darrell and his unique style of shredding even though it's a small part of the song. The rest of the song conjures up a frenetic pace and never holds up. The atmosphere is somehow creepy, hideous, ugly and vile all at the same time. It has a raw edge yet it works masterfully. It's primitive Death Metal at it's core and it's extremely exciting.

Make no bones about it, it's in your face from the beginning to the end. It's a real thrill ride and they show no compromise whatsoever. They obviously don't take the high road and they push the intensity to it's maximum. It's steadfast yet quite energetic. You have to give it to these guys and how hard they worked on this album, they are a technically gifted bunch and all the attention they are getting is gladly warranted.

You have some twisted riffs and monstrous vocals for such a newer band. They really took to heart the legends of the genre and it does feel quite natural, it's like dirty rotten Death Metal to the core. They don't have a signature sound but it works anyways. The instruments do seem indiscernible from the other and the production was a bit lacking but it does not deter from my enjoyment of the album. They are really a throwback to bands like IMMOLATION and AUTOPSY, top notch Old School Death Metal!