AZGARD is a DeathCore/Metalcore band base out of Ternopil, Ukraine. The band presents their debut album here, which contains nine tracks.

The title song, "At The Break Of The Day," is the opening presentation. It's hate-fueled Core with a low end sound from seriously drop-tuned guitar, and some melodic lead breaks peppered in and around. The vocal delivery varies from higher ranges to very low, guttural utterances. There are also some rhythmic elements here and there that keep the meter changing. "Be A Man" has some more immediate harmonies at the start that keep a presence among the chaos of the super thick Core sound that is as strong as the pillars that built the Coliseum.

"Blind" has both a little more musical sound while at the same time thunderheads threaten to unload with a suspenseful background ambiance that does a nice job of pulling you in. The brief and choppy running lead guitar parts remain a standard. I love the eerie interlude that pieces together the ending of the song with some real stark emotion.

"Eastern Winds" begins in a slightly higher key, promising some brightness that plays together with the darkness in a nice harmony. I really like the way this song brings in these elements together. "Farewell" goes very deep into the spectrum of pure brutality with a toughness that mirrors titanium. But at the same time, a structured chorus makes a brief appearance and brings in some really nice moments of melody. The contrast here is very wide and that is exactly what makes this sound enjoyable.

"Sin" is another track that hits hard from the start with a perverse and unnatural body, like the genetic mutilation of the family pet, transformed into something so hideous it must be locked away forever. "Your God Is Silent" closes the album with a sweeping statement that sums up the sound neatly. I imagine this would be the sound that you would hear in a world where belief in a higher being is not only obviously wrong, but punishable by torture and death. The unorthodox melodies towards the end of the song are noteworthy as well.

Overall, this is a good effort from the debut album of AZGARD. I definitely find this closer to the DeathCore side than the Metalcore side. Though pure melody is not amiss, the vocals keep the album in that prior realm and the foundation of the songs are not build on hooks or feel-good emotions. Still, among the angst and super-charged bottom scale chords, there is plenty of other textures that they build in here to keep things interesting, as well as very tight musicianship.