J-Man Finnish black metal group Azaghal has a reputation for consistently churning out dark, evil, and Satanic masterworks heavily inspired by the pioneers of the genre's second wave, and Nemesis is no exception. Although the album sports a cleaner production and tighter musicianship than many of the lo-fi black metal dungeon recordings of the early nineties', Azaghal demonstrates that they have a very deep understanding of how to effectively convey dark atmospheres and frightening imagery through a musical context. Nemesis is a complex and mightily impressive album, and while it doesn't quite offer enough new ideas to be regarded as an essential work, it's worth a listen for black metal enthusiasts.

The biggest influences I can hear in Azaghal's music are Mayhem and Darkthrone, but these lads are a bit more intricate from a compositional standpoint. Although the first half or so of the album tends to stick to the tried and true black metal formula, the second half is actually a bit more experimental and melodic. While calling Nemesis a melodic black metal album would be horribly wrong, the precise riff structures, touches of melody, and even occasional use of clean vocals assure the listener that Azaghal has a bit more to offer than your average Mayhem rip-off. The title track, which includes generous helpings of fast-paced riffage matched with twisted melodies, especially showcases the band at their most creative and compelling. The songs are generally powerful, dark, and sinister, with the band's tight musicianship preventing monotony from ever setting in, even if the music is quite hypnotic in nature. Although the lyrics do occasionally come across as goofy and cliched (I'm looking at you, "Black Legions of Satan"), the music is strong enough to look past this minor flaw.

Nemesis may not offer too many new ideas for experienced black metal veterans, but the compositions are strong enough to warrant a purchase for those who consider themselves a fan of the genre regardless. While I wouldn't quite call this an excellent album, it's a very solid effort from Azaghal, and a great way to help kick off black metal in 2012. 3.5 stars are well-deserved, and I look forward to more thoroughly investigating this band's discography in the near future.

Time Signature In deathlike silence...

Genre: black metal

For a black metal release, this is quite well produced, and the absence of sloppiness (something that, since the days of Hellhammer and Venom has been an integrated feature of raw black metal) is definitely notable.

The music is arch black metal along the lines of Mayhem's legenday "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas", which means blastbeat-ladden fast and furious black metal. All the genre-defining elements are there: blastbeats galore, tremolo picking, tense harmonies, dissonance, harsh vocals and emphasis on repetition.

So, yes it does sound a lot like it could be a run-of-the-mill Mayhem rip-off release, but it isn't. There is actually quite a lot of variation on this album, when you listen to it in its entirety. Firstly, there are some quite melodic elements every now and then, as in "Vihasta ja Veritöistä" and "Ex Nihilo", while "In Deathlike Silence", true to black metal tradition, has a tremolo picked melody on top of furious blastbeating and also features some darkly melodic passages, and the massively melodic title track even features some clean vocals. Also, a track like "Hail the Whore" contains a clean guitared melancholic instrumental section, and "Ex Nihilo" and the Hellhammer-inspired "Black Legions of Satan" (also figuring in the corpus of Finnish black metal outfit Vultyr which features members of Azaghal kept heavy and crushing), the latter only picking up pace towards the end.

With "Nemesis" Azaghal shows that rawer black metal can be fierce and brutal - and true to the genre - but still contain expressive melodic elements without losing the blackness and evil.