Azusa is a progressive

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

that originated in 2018 as a project between cousins and former

Extol Extol are a Christian metal band from Bekkestua, Norway that was formed in 1993. The band is known for playing a variety of different styles of heavy metal music, metal which include progressive metal, death metal, black metal and thrash metal. ...

members, Christer Espevoll and David Husvik. The two had been demoing material, when then

The Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan was an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of odd time sign ...

bassist

Liam Wilson Liam Wilson (born December 22, 1979) is an American musician. He has been the bass player for The Dillinger Escape Plan since 2000 and is a former bass player of Starkweather. Currently, he is a part of Azusa, a project formed with members of Ex ...

expressed admiration for Extol. The three added on pop vocalist Eleni Zafiriadou of Sea + Air, and the band recorded their debut album, ''Heavy Yoke''. The band is currently signed with

Solid State Records Solid State Records is a Christian metalcore record label, an imprint of Tooth & Nail Records. Unlike Tooth & Nail, Solid State signs hardcore punk and heavy metal bands. Like Tooth & Nail, Solid State is primarily a Christian label. However, ...

History

Azusa began between cousins Christer Espevoll and David Husvik, who had originally formed the

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

band

, who reached great acclaim in their run. The band began to form when the two met up at a show for Espevoll's former band,

Benea Reach Benea Reach was a Norwegian progressive metal band based in Oslo. The band was nominated for a Spellemannsprisen Award in the metal category, and at one time included noted guitarist Christer Espevoll of progressive metal band Extol. Histor ...

in 2014. The two began demoing material and put out a contest to begin creating logos for the band. Shortly after the band began working on material,

(ex-

, ex- Starkweather, John Frum), proclaimed an admiration for Extol to the two. Husvik and Espevoll hired Wilson into the band and the three began to record the music for Azusa's debut album. The band would then hire on Eleni Zafiriadou of Sea + Air. Husvik had previously seen Zafiriadou perform with a project called Jumbo Jet, which featured clean and unclean vocals from time to time. The band recorded and released several singles over time. Following the singles releases, the band debut their album, ''Heavy Yoke'', with the assistance of

in the United States and

Indie Recordings Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies * Indie game, any game (boa ...

in Europe. The band was nominated for an

Edvardprisen The Edvard Prize is a Norwegian music award in given by TONO, copyright organization for musicians and composers. The award, which was first awarded in 1998, is awarded annually and can only be awarded to members of the organization. The goal is t ...

award on June 20, 2019, most specifically for Espevoll and Husvik. The band announced their first tour with

The Contortionist The Contortionist is an American progressive metal band from Indianapolis, Indiana. Formed in 2007, the band consists of guitarists Robby Baca and Cameron Maynard, drummer Joey Baca, vocalist Mike Lessard, bassist Jordan Eberhardt, and keyboard ...

in mid-2019. In 2020, the band began releasing singles from their next album, titled ''Loops of Yesterday'', which is set to be released on April 10, 2020. The band debuted with their first single, titled "Memories of an Old Emotion". which On February 8, 2020, the band released "Monument", which was the second single for the album. The band's third single, "Detatch", was released on February 27, and featured a guitar solo by

Alex Skolnick Alex Skolnick (born September 29, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Tra ...

of Testament.

Style and lyrics

The band have been compared to

and Cynic, while also throwing comparisons of

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

mixed with

Annette Peacock Annette Peacock is an American composer, musician, songwriter, producer, and arranger. She is a pioneer in electronic music who combined her voice with one of the first Moog synthesizers in the late 1960s. Biography Annette Peacock was writing ...

and

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

mixed with

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...

. Azusa's lyrical content, like many of the cousins' previous bands, does contain

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

themes, however, not as "black and white" as they were when the members were younger.

Members

Current Live *Eirik Kråkenes – Guitars (2019–present) (Astrosaur, Dream Archer)

Discography

Studio albums *''Heavy Yoke'' (2018) *''Loops of Yesterday'' (2020) Singles *"Heavy Yoke" (2018) *"Interstellar Islands" (2018) *"First Lines" (2018) *"Heart of Stone" (2018) *"Memories of An Old Emotion" (2020) *"Monument" (2020) *"Detatch" (2020)

References

External links

Official website
*{{cite web, url=https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Azusa/3540447382, title=Azusa, website=

Encyclopedia Metallum Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives (commonly known as Metal Archives per the URL or abbreviated as MA) is an online encyclopedia based upon musical artists who predominantly perform heavy metal music along with its various sub-genres. E ...

, date=December 1, 2018, accessdate=July 1, 2019 Progressive metal musical groups Extreme metal musical groups Heavy metal supergroups Solid State Records artists