siLLy puPPy It’s so difficult to keep up with the countless torrents of new music emerging these days but a generous sampling of artists will quickly reveal that way too many artists are very much in copycat mode and merely emulating a successful artist in order to cash in some popular style. This is nothing new of course but with the centralized music industry all but destroyed and indie artists from every region of the planet having the ability to record quality music cheaply at home, it’s never been more of a challenge to keep up with things!

So it’s always a breath of fresh air to hear an artist sound totally original and thinking outside of the box without jettisoning the elements of musicality that offer instant connection. BAAZLVAAT is one such artist. This duo of Nirogpip (vocals, drums, bass) and Declan (guitars, bass, vocals) comes from Flint, Michigan and yeah they must’ve drank too much of that contaminated water because these guys are bat shit crazy but in a very good way! Essentially a black metal band that shrieks on about the magical fantasy worlds, these guys have been successful in crafting a sound like no other.

New to me but these guys have cranked out a few albums from 2020 to 2022 without getting on my radar. Finally checking out this latest release INCREDIBLE WORLD and incredible indeed! Sounding something like a mix of Hail Spirit Noir and old school lo-fi second wave black metal in the vein of Darkthrone’s earliest black metal releases, BAAZLVAAT remains several steps away from any particular influences by throwing constant curveballs into the mix. INCREDIBLE WORLD is a lengthy beast clocking in at almost 65 minutes with 14 tracks of varying lengths but i swear that every track has instantly likable hooks that reach out and grab me and then pummel me with unexpected twists and turns. My kinda magic!

A black metal band at heart but also heavily steeped in melodic hard rock, 80s heavy metal and psychedelic rock from the 1960s. Add to that some folk moments as well as other disparate genres such as spaghetti western music, punk rock and dungeon synth, the results of this bizarre mix is actually quite satisfying. More than i ever expected actually. What really makes this work is the strong melodic hooks that this band can create. Imagine a really talented 80s metal band in the vein of Iron Maiden, Dio or Judas Priest using lo-fi black metal recording techniques, raspy vocals (as well as other extreme styles), scattered moments of jazz, prog rock, folk, exotica and other genres and then keeping all the tracks different enough to stand out.

That’s essentially what you get here and it’s quite well done! The variation of melodic guitar riffs, drumming styles, use of bass, exotic additions and even variations in vocal raspiness is quite impressive. Even the use of tones, feedback, distortion and sustain are cleverly manipulated for desired effect. These guys are clearly sound nerds who have painstakingly crafted a genius work that is hidden behind a wall of lo-fi griminess. While coming off as a garage band of sort, the instrumental interplay is phenomenal here with killer guitar solos and clever chord progressions. Repetitive riffs and contrasting elements make this one irresistible. A surprise find and a rare melodic find in the world of avant-black metal.