Here we have the new release from a band which we featured long time ago in our humble zine. I am talking about New Zealand based veterans and masters of brutality aka DAWN OF AZAZEL. We featured their very first 7"EP and debut album "Law Of The Strong" which was unleashed upon this rotten planet about more than eleven years ago (and thirteen years for the EP). Oh man, times passes by really so fucking fast. Meanwhile this killer outfit from the other side of our globe has puked out some fine other releases. The last one was the third longplayer "Relentless" which was a beast of an album and was released by the famous Unique Leader Records label. But unfortunately the band was then on a hiatus for a couple of years even if they were supporting international heavy weights such as SUFFOCATION, DYING FETUS or KRISIUN (just to name a few). But luckily the three piece is back on track again with a new output. "The Tides Of Damocles" features ten blistering tracks of utter brutality and sheer awesome technical brillance. The album offers a delicous blend of quite complex brutal US style Death Metal combined with a Hardcore style vocal aggression. You can really hear that the band is a master of its trade and that they are around for quite a long time already (established in 1999). Every break and twist fits perfectly and the shifting from one pace to another is done at the right moment and when it’s neccessary. Axeman Joe delivers an incredible job, while Rigel comes up with a bunch of crazy bass lines and last but not least the same credits go to Jeremy’s absolute amazing and crushing drum work. This is hard stuff, brillant and violent to the max! The extreme powerful production (recorded, mastered and engineered at Mana Studios in Tampa / Florida) totally compliments the tracks and gives them the punsh they need to pulverize everything. A real devastating album right from the start which should please every fan of fast, technically skilled brutality with a special twist. Great stuff guys and welcome back! For more info just visit the band’s site at www.dawnofazazel.com.