Review: Azken Auzi ‘Infernua’
French sludge doom duo Azken Auzi have returned to the fold with their new record Infernua on Argonauta Records. The band have been working on making a significant evolution to their sound to draw on deeper, darker and more occult influences than their self-titled debut from 2023. Working with the Italian label seems to bring the best out in a lot of bands of this ilk, so I’m excited to see just how their new approach has been realised.
The groaning, sludgy riffs of opener Deep Hell lurch and lumber into existence, drawing comparisons to High on Fire immediately for me, but with the throaty, tortured roar of vocalist Ludo Σ instead of that charismatic boom of Matt Pike. The hefty, brawny swagger of the song is relentless in its execution, striding with muscular purpose towards the doom that is prophesied, given only a brief pause by a quieter section that just ups the tension even more.
They have built this sound on deceptively simple riffing, backed up by a huge production that really amps up the thickness of the record, and keeps those dynamic shifts sharp and clear. It allows the mesmerising roll and flow of those massive sludgy guitars to move like tides, slowly creeping closer to you with barely restrained inevitability.
bulldozing brawn, a fanatical worship of the riff, mesmerising power and dense atmospheric shrouds…
There is a hypnotic repetition to the likes of See You Next Tuesday that draws you in, and when you get respites from that heaviness in bleak, cold, clean guitars, it feels sinister and probing, testing your responses. It leads to the melancholic closer From Hell, which delves into that emotional groove the band have been channelling and begins to pull at the threads, to absorb the misery and let it ascend. It is a fascinating journey from emotion-starved doom groove to this introspective, collapsing temple of oneself.
This is an album built on bulldozing brawn, a fanatical worship of the riff, mesmerising power and dense atmospheric shrouds. The duo may take a more straightforward approach to sludge doom at the start, but that doesn’t make their work any less potent or relevant, especially as the record grows and moves forward. There is a subtle gloom to the proceedings that doesn’t seem too obvious until you feel it already wrapped around you, and that is a real strength of Azken Auzi‘s songwriting.
Infernua seems very much forged from pure, simple riff power, but look closer and you’ll find other things swimming in deep, dark pools of sludgy doom.
Label: Argonauta Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Sandy Williamson
