Azahel's Fortress - The Chaos Kingdom

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\r\n  Azahel’s Fortress are from Austria and whilst\r\nfor most people this doesn’t say much, for me it does.  This small central European country has\r\noffered a lot musically and I’m not referring only to Mozart!  Summoning, Abigor, Angizia, Hollenthon, Dornenreich,\r\nRaventhrone, Korova and many more great bands derive from this place.  The Austrians are more diverse than their\r\nScandinavian colleagues and somewhat possess a greater musical culture than the\r\nAmericans.  They have their own way of\r\ncreating music and a very distinguishable style.  Azahel’s Fortress do not belong entirely at\r\nthis group but I was feeling the need to praise the Austrian scene and it’s the\r\nfirst time I had the chance!\r\n

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\r\n  This band performs black metal with\r\nScandinavian influences and epic atmosphere. \r\nThe opener “Slave Of The Throne” is groovy enough to remind me of\r\nSatyricon, whilst “Dark Forest Kingdom” with its slow tempo, has an early\r\nBehemoth touch.  “Mankind Misery” with\r\nits bleak tone and “The Pagan Sun” with its epic feel are the highlights of\r\nthis album.  Back to Satyricon\r\ninfluences, “Behind A Mirror Of Chaos” is a mix of “romantic” and modern black metal.  This release containing eight pieces closes\r\nwith the atmospheric “Nachterwachen” written in their native tongue.\r\n

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\r\n  As I said before, Azahel’s Fortress do not\r\nbelong among the pioneers of Austrian metal but that does not mean they do not\r\ndeserve your attention.  The songs are good,\r\nwith many changes that will keep you interested throughout the duration of the album.  The production is quite meticulous with high\r\npitched but heavy guitars, well performed drumming and decent vocals (which\r\ncould have been a little louder).  The fact\r\nthat apart from the drums this album was conceived and performed by one person –Azahel-,\r\ndoesn’t affect the result in a negative way.  It must be the Austrian gene! It could end up\r\nsounding mundane but the creator seems to have the open mind and good\r\nperspective to produce a really good album. \r\nThe fans of epic black metal with Swedish and Norwegian references will\r\nbe satisfied by this release.\r\n

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