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The Azoic 
Forward 
~reviewed by Matthew

With two full-length albums, their own record label (pronounced nil-EYE-ah), and over five years experience to their credit, The Azoic rapidly excelled to reign as one of the United States’ most treasured darkwave bands.  Their debut “The Divine Suffering” is perhaps one of the most disturbing and self-depreciating albums in existence, and the polished follow-up “Where Broken Angels Lie” solidified the band as a force to be reckoned with due to the stark club hits “Intimate Incisions” and “Drown.” 

And as the title of their third album would hint, this Columbus OH duo seek to move ‘forward’ and further solidify and expand their sound to be more in league with current EBM and electronic bands rattling the rafters of clubs across the globe.  It is extremely impressive to hear how far the band has come, especially being a fan since day one.  Though the miserable Gothic tones of their debut release is what originally drew me to the band, they have moved further away from that style over the years much to my dismay, but have won the respect of a much broader fan base and they are obviously creating the kind of music they are more comfortable with.  And above all, I cannot stress this enough, they are doing what the do extremely well. 

The direction of the new Azoic release is very similar to the young and highly successful act Flesh Field (who provide their own unique remix of The Azoic on this release), due to the hard-hitting electro ‘thuds,’ whirlwinds of wire synths, and strong female vocals.  I hear a lot of VNV Nation and Assemblage 23’s influence in the synth arrangements, and the atmospheric elements of the Azoic’s past are not completely depleted for there are a great many ghostly choir samples that appear throughout the disc. 

The opening track, “Not Justified,” features one of those gorgeous choir samples and kicks off the CD wonderfully, providing a perfect balance of atmosphere and unmistakable club potential.  I love this track to pieces, it is just completely awesome.  The track “Progression” appears on this release as well, a song which has already received extensive club play over the past year due to its prior appearance in a slightly different form on the successful Resistor compilation from last year.  Those two tracks are definitely an absolute must for DJs, this I cannot stress enough either. “Progression” has consistently filled the floor in Pittsburgh since its initial release, and in many other cities as well. 

“Evolution” stands out, as it is the only track which features Steve Laskarides’ lead vocals.  Steve has decreased the amount of effects on his vocals, yielding to a more organic yet still raw feel to his voice, somewhat similar to a more sedate Funker Vogt.   This track will also probably due well on the dance floor.  “Redemption” has some interesting and abrasive electronics, quite noisy in parts, yet consistent nonetheless. 

“Carve Into You” has a beautiful, pensive build up, with cinematic, symphonic synths with bits of dialogue strung together and a sample of an eerie military march.  Kristy’s vocals are more reserved in this song, but the interplay between her voice and the melodies provided by the electronics make for a very moving effect.  The more I listen to this song the more I  enjoy it. 

That leaves us with seven ‘new’ tracks, the remaining four songs being remixes. In terms of those remixes, the Assemblage 23 was quite nice, starting with a very unexpected classical piano interlude that builds to wonderfully melancholic yet beat heavy arrangement.  Very effective and well arranged, with a nice ethereal atmosphere.   The Flesh Field mix is pretty cool as well, pumping the aggression of the original song a few degrees higher for a more stomp friendly effect.  Nice, and quite mind-altering.  Fiction 8’s take on “Progression” keeps the feel of the original song, with lengthier build-ups and some neat reverberated effects on the vocals.  Basically, the song is a bit more stretched out, which is cool, but it’s probably my least favourite of the remixes.  The Oneroid Psychosis interpretation takes the song down a significant amount of BPM’s for a more sinister darkwave feel, but the vocals are still the same pace, which kind of throws it off.  The first listen, the song sounded a bit awkward, but with each successive listen, it will grow on you.  It’s definitely quite creative, and way sp0oky, as you can expect from these guys. 

What more can you say about remixes?  I was a bit disappointed that there were only seven new tracks on here, giving the album the feel of an extended EP.  Nonetheless, the album is just under an hour, so that does indeed qualify as a full length so I can’t complain.  I just wished for more, and when you hear this CD, you will definitely feel the same.  The only shortcoming I can really find with the new direction of the band is that they could stand for a bit more variation.  A lot of the songs seem to have the same pace, feel, and synth sounds, etc.  I think the next release the band produce (and hopefully it won’t be as long of a wait this time!) will be their masterpiece. 

Overall, an impressive CD on several levels, which will definitely catapult the band even further upward into ‘stardom.’   If you are on the East Coast, be sure to check out The Azoic who will be performing with label mates Fiction 8 throughout late June/early July. 

Track List: 
1.) Not Justified 
2.) Lost 
3.) Evolution 
4.) Progression 
5.) Harsh Reality 
6.) Redemption 
7.) Carve Into You 
8.) Progression (Dirge Mix by Assemblage 23) 
9.) Evolution (Dillusion Mix by Flesh Field) 
10.) Progression (Pinchita Mix by Fiction 8) 
11.) Progression (Oneiroid Psychosis Mix) 

The Azoic is: 
Kristy Venrick: vocals/lyrics 
Steve Laskarides: electronics/samples, etc 

Nilaihah Records: 
http://www.nilaihah.com