Azaghal is a Finnish
black metal
Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...
band, currently signed to Moribund Records. They were established in 1995.
History
Azaghal was formed in 1995 by guitarist
Narqath
Tomi Kalliola, although generally recognised by his stage name, Narqath, was born in Finland on 11 October 1979. In 1995, he and drummer, Kalma formed the Finnish black metal band Azaghal. Kalliola has played guitar, bass and keyboards, as well as ...
and drummer Kalma (later known as Vrtx and V-Khaoz). Varjoherra joined the band as a vocalist in 1997, and their first demo was recorded shortly after that in late 1997. Two more demos, ''Noituuden Torni'' and ''Kristinusko Liekeissä'' were recorded in 1998, as well as their debut 7-inch EP ''Harmagedon'', released by Aftermath Music.
Their debut full-length record ''Mustamaa'' was released in Summer 1999 by
Melancholy Productions (later known as
ISO666). The album was originally released only on limited vinyl (300 copies), but was later re-released on CD by ISO666. Just a few months later their second full-length album was recorded, entitled ''Helvetin Yhdeksän Piiriä''. The first two albums featured mostly re-recorded demo material, hence the short time between the recordings and releases. ''Helvetin Yhdeksän Piiriä'' came out on Brazilian label
Evil Horde Records in December 1999. The year 2000 saw the release of a couple of split CDs, ''Helwettiläinen'' 7-inch and ''Deathkult MMDCLXVI'', a collection of rare and demo tracks. Azaghal tracks from the two split CDs (with
Mustan Kuun Lapset and
Beheaded Lamb) were also released on 12-inch vinyl called ''Ihmisviha'' by
Blut & Eisen. In early 2001 JL Nokturnal (who had appeared on most of the earlier releases as a session musician) joined Azaghal as a lead guitarist/bassist and they recorded their third full-length album ''Of Beasts and Vultures'' in March 2001. After some delays ''Of Beasts and Vultures'' was finally released over a year later in Spring 2002. After this album founding member and drummer V-Khaoz was fired from the band because he was not considered to share the other members' passion for black metal and Azaghal.
In 2002-2003 Azaghal recorded more material for split releases and signed a deal with already familiar Aftermath Music for the release of a
MCD
MCD, Mcd or mcd may refer to:
Science
* Magnetic circular dichroism, with polarized light
* Malonyl-CoA decarboxylase, an enzyme involved in fatty acid biosynthesis
* Mesoscale convective discussion, Storm Prediction Center forecast
* Millicand ...
and a new full-length record. The result was the limited-edition ''Kyy'' MCD and their most raw recording to date, ''Perkeleen Luoma''. These two releases were also released as a double LP by Finnish label
Hammer of Hate. In the absence of a drummer, these releases were recorded with a drum machine (known as "Unhuman Warmachine") to give the recordings a colder and more non-human atmosphere. After nearly ten years as a band with a negative attitude towards gigs, they finally decided to start playing live in 2004, so TM Blastbeast (aka Teemu Mutka, ex-Deep Red, Nerlich) was brought in as a drummer. Their first live appearance was at the
Under The Black Sun Festival in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in Summer 2004. They have played gigs sporadically since then. Later in 2004 the band signed with their current label
Avantgarde Music
Avantgarde Music is an Italian record label, formed as a continuation of Obscure Plasma Records, focusing on black and doom metal artists. The label had a sub-label called Wounded Love Records, which has released albums by Dolorian and Taake. A ...
, and recorded the album ''Codex Antitheus''. In support of this they played a few more gigs in 2005 in Switzerland and Italy. In 2006 Azaghal recorded a second album for Avantgarde Music, ''Luciferin Valo''. This album saw a more back-to-basics approach, both in simplified song writing and rawer production. After the recordings they replaced drummer TM Blastbeast with Chernobog (also a member of
Kingdom of Agony). Two years later Varjoherra left the band due to a lack of time available to dedicate, so he was replaced by Niflungr, with whom he also has started another project called
Black Blessing
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...
. From that point Niflungr took over lead vocals, but the arrangement does not preclude Vorjaherra returning to the band on occasion.
In 2008 ''Omega'' was released via
Moribund Records
Moribund Records, also known as Moribund Cult or just Moribund, is an extreme metal record label based out of Port Orchard, Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the ...
in Europe and
Paranoid Records
Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...
in Brazil. One year later Azaghal recorded another album, called ''Teraphim'', featuring a new version of the track "Kyy".
Line-up
Current line-up
*
Narqath
Tomi Kalliola, although generally recognised by his stage name, Narqath, was born in Finland on 11 October 1979. In 1995, he and drummer, Kalma formed the Finnish black metal band Azaghal. Kalliola has played guitar, bass and keyboards, as well as ...
- Guitar, bass, vocals, keyboard (ex-Calm (Fin), ex-Decay's Delight, Finnugor, ex-Hellkult, ex-Hin Onde, ex-Necromortum, ex-Oath of Cirion, ex-Svartalfheim (Fin), Svartkraft, ex-Thoronath, ex-Valar, Vultyr, Weltraum, With Hate I Burn, Wyrd)
*
Niflungr - Vocals, bass (Kingdom Of Agony, Teurastus, Black Blessing)
*
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
- Drums (Amberian Dawn, Dotma, Epicrenel, Hautakammio, Sawhill Sacrifice, Thaurorod, Lathspell)
Former members
*
Varjoherra - Vocals, drums (ex-Vultyr, Bapthomet, Black Blessing)
*
JL Nokturnal
JL or Jl may refer to:
Businesses and brands
* JL Audio, a manufacturer of consumer audio products
* Jeep Wrangler (JL) model, beginning production in 2018
People
* Justin Langer (born 1970), former Australian cricket player
Places
* Jubaland, a ...
- Guitar, syntezator, bass, drums (ex-Hin Onde, Medieval Art, Nocturnal Winds, Wyrd, Yearning, Svartkraft)
Drummers
*T.M. Blastbeast(Acabó el Silencio, Cadaveric Incubator, ex-Carcase Inc., ex-Deep Red (Fin), Jumalation, Nerlich)
*Chernobog (Kingdom of Agony)
*Kalma aka v-KhaoZ aka VRTX (Ville Pallonen) (ex-Druadan Forest, ex-Hellkult, ex-Hin Onde, ex-Noitavalkea, ex-Oath of Cirion, ex-Svartalfheim (Fin), Calm (Fin))
Timeline
Color denotes main live duty
Discography
Studio albums, live albums and compilations
*1999 ''Mustamaa'' (Album)
*1999 ''Helvetin Yhdeksän Piiriä'' (Album)
*2000 ''DeathKult MMDCLXVI'' (Compilation)
*2001 ''Ihmisviha'' (Compilation)
*2002 ''Of Beasts And Vultures'' (Album)
*2004 ''Perkeleen Luoma'' (Album)
*2005 ''Codex Antitheus'' (Album)
*2006 ''Luciferin Valo'' (Album)
*2008 ''Omega'' (Album)
*2009 ''Teraphim'' (Album)
*2012 ''Nemesis'' (Album)
*2015 ''Madon Sanat'' (Album)
*2018 ''Valo pohjoisesta'' (Album)
EPs, splits and MCDs
*1999 ''Harmagedon (EP)'' (EP)
*2000 ''Uusi Suomalainen Black Metal Tulokas'' (Split)
*2001 ''Suicide Anthems / Dark Blasphemous Moon'' (Split)
*2002 ''Helwettiläinen'' (EP)
*2002 ''Black Metal War'' (Split)
*2003 ''Omenne'' (Split)
*2003 ''Unholy Terror Union'' (Split)
*2003 ''Kyy (EP), Kyy'' (EP)
*2004 ''Krieg / Azaghal'' (Split)
*2004 ''None Shall Escape...'' (Split)
*2004 ''Neljä Vihan Vasaraa / Four Hammers of Hate'' (Split)
*2006 ''Azaghal Terror Cult / Wrath'' (Split)
Demos
*1998 ''Demo I'' (Demo)
*1998 ''Noituuden Torni'' (Demo)
*1998 ''Kristinusko Liekeissä'' (Demo)
*2001 ''Black Terror Metal'' (Demo)
References
External links
Official siteAzaghalat
MySpace
*
Azaghalon
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azaghal
Finnish black metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1995
Musical quintets