siLLy puPPy There are quite a few strange experimental extreme metal bands out there these days but even in a crowded room there are still a few that manage to stand out. AZURE EMOTE is one of these strange beasts and their debut release CHRONICLES OF AN AGING MAMMAL caught my eye in the discount bin with their cute little Bhuddist monkey dude in front of an oncoming storm. Lucky for me that this seems to be a little too far removed from the average metalhead’s comfort zone and banished to the crevices of avant-garde obscurity making it dirt cheap! But there is a lot to like for an adventurous prog metalhead such as myself who craves new bizarre angles to experience many of my favorite genres mangled up into a musical equivalent of a lava lamp churning through its humble glass abode.

AZURE EMOTE swells from the fertile imaginative and interpretive concepts of Mike Hrubovcak who set forth to create a form of metal that was highly unorthodox and free of those pesky genre boundaries. This is basically his baby as a side project from his other bands which include Monstrosity, Vile and Abraxas with members of those bands lending a hand on some of the instrumental duties. Other help comes from various members of Hate Eternal, Divine Rapture, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, Solace In The Shadows, I.C.E., Mourning Todesbonden, Autumn Tears and even more, so this is basically a huge collaborative effort where geeky tech death dudes get to conjure up their wildest aggressive musical fantasies without any constraints. The results are quite bizarre but equally brilliant in how it all melds together. A true work of passion here.

While the template of their sound is brutal death metal with blistering guitar riffs, blastbeats and growly vocals, there is tons of other influences on board. The ones i can ascertain include the progressiveness of Enslaved, the industrial spasticity of Strapping Young Lad, the space metal touches of Arcturus and electronica frenzies that can bring bands like Ulver or Coil to mind. I also hear a lot of spoken sampling that actually reminds me of the bizarre industrial deathrock antics of Alien Sex Fiend. The main gist of things is basically an alternating pattern instead of true fusion for the most part. A perfect introduction to this band would be to check out their official video for “Complex 22” which displays their intricate use of electronica, death metal and progressive song construction. Also on display is their sci-fi inspired misanthropic proses of how homo sapiens have been the masters of self-destruction and how the roles of religion and thirst for power have paved this route. While this particular track displays an interesting ratio of death metal with progressive metal and a healthy dose of electronica, it is basically the formula for the entire album with each track having a different emphasis on the various elements.

This is a strange beast indeed as we get the bizarre marriage of genres, avant-garde meanderings, strange time signatures and exotic instruments jumping in from time to time. Despite the avant-garde label there is a strong emphasis on melodic developments with catchy hooks that keep it fairly accessible for being as weirded out as it is. While the hooks are there, this is still a complex release that took me many listens for it to sink in. The hooks are just catchy enough to grab ya the first time but the bizarre interplay between the instruments and unorthodox song structures are what keep me coming back. While widely considered less focused and refined as their second release “The Gravity Of Impermanence,” CHRONICLES OF AN AGING MAMMAL is special in its own right. It is the heavier sounding of the two with a more “anything goes” approach creating some intense and interesting music. I’m hooked.