With a history of playing in comedy metal troupe Timōrātus, Louisville, Kentucky based husband and wife duo David and Courtney Napier, who play everything on the album, seem unlikely candidates to form a death doom influenced sludge metal band. Therefore, it was with some interest that Hotel Hobbies entered into the sinister and portentous world that Azell claim to have created.
A howl of feedback opens the first song, title track Death Control, before gargantuan, sludge laden chords begin slowly and formidably like a colossal ancient army marching across a barren landscape. A dark and oppressive narrative unfolds as Azell struggle with a force that seems overpowering and inescapable. Sinking deeper under his spell / Ears wide open to hear the death knell / Darkness pours into every cell. Azell use elongated chords and vocals to effectively draw out the harrowing misery within the lyrics.
The lyric retells the shadowy narrative of Harlan Ellison’s short I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream – where the sadistic and sentient AM (Allied Mastercomputer) imprisons and tortures five humans for decades following a nuclear war during which the supercomputers used to fight the war destroy their creators. A.M. holds nothing back in the venomous lyrics. Hater of every man / You five will never escape / Take you and mould your shape / I will find your tender flaws / Crush you, grind you in my jaws / Hate is all that I feel / Your fate is here, your doom is sealed. Vocalist Courtney Napier takes on the role of AM with a warped relish as her bile-filled delivery threatens to crush anything that approaches. David Napier’s proficient use of synthesisers (the only track on the album to feature them) adds a further potent layer of evil to thunderous but glacially paced rhythms.
Death Control features three instrumentals sensibly distributed across the album: Scud, Wallow and Echoes of Eternity. All three are cavernous and titanic in nature but final track on the album, Echoes of Eternity, stretches the somewhat overwhelming, almost hypnotic instrumentation to the limit, reaching over six and half minutes in length. By the end of the of the track (and the album), the claustrophobic nature of the riffs, pummelling bass and head-pounding percussion become almost unbearable in their oppression. However, there can be no doubt that this is exactly the atmosphere Azell intended to create and diving fully into the album is the only way to discover the treasure of warped delights it has to offer.
Across the song and the album, they take their time to tell their tortured tales and for fans of crushing doom, Apocalypse Verdict - rich in themes of cosmic power, existential dread and looming consequences - is another rumbling, immense celebration of unhurried sludge metal, as an unknown extra-terrestrial force passes judgement on humankind. They descend from the stars / Their purpose undefined / Silent observers of humanity / With our fates intertwined / Celestial tribunal hidden in disguise / Passing the final judgment given / With enigmatic eyes. An all-consuming feeling of unease develops as the song progresses, culminating in the final moments of a chilling countdown as Earth’s fate is left unresolved.
By the time Chemical Chains – a purgatorial crawl through the perils of addiction – begins, some listeners will find the overall similarity between the songs too oppressive or uninspiring, finding it difficult to continue. However, just when you might think Azell will offer little in way of actual true variety on the album, the seventy second high-speed charge of End It All springs like a possessed demon from the speakers. It is important to note that while the lyrics suggest a longing for an escape from inner pain, End It All does not advocate self-harm or suicide but seeks to bring to light the turmoil one suffering from depression or seemingly inescapable pressure might experience. You can’t find a way to move on / Blame your life for what's wrong / Take the easy way out. Punk like in its caustic belligerence, End It All displays Azell’s ability to embrace other tempos.
Although there is little on Death Control that has not been heard before, Azell should be praised for what they have created. End It All aside, they are totally committed to the genre in which they reside. It is safe to say that if you love one song on Death Control, you are likely to enjoy them all, providing you have the stamina for forty-six minutes of vast, brontosaurus-sized riffs. Wallowing in the mud-splattered viscosity of the band’s glorious riffs, listeners will be drawn inexorably into the indefinable fury and bleak confinement of the abyss they have created. Sometimes, diving into the unknown can be rewarding….
Death Control is released on 1st March 2024.
Visit Azell's bandcamp page here: https://azellrr.bandcamp.com/album/death-control
Azell online: https://linktr.ee/azell.band