Photo: Ester Segarra
On the video that you’re about to watch, before this devastating song, the opener on Trivax’s forthcoming new album Eloah Burns Out, kicks in, a short message is shown, generally giving us the conceptual context, and ending on this note: “Trivax stands against totalitarianism of all forms including religious and cultural dictatorships.” In this band’s particular case, this is something that hits even harder than usual, because its leader, guitarist/vocalist Shayan S., had to leave his home country of Iran and move to the United Kingdom at 16 years old precisely to flee a religious and cultural dictatorship and have the freedom to do what he loves, which is to be a metal musician. In the U.K., he found a like-minded cohort in Syrian-born bassist Sully, who had a similar trajectory, having left his own country due to the possibility of imprisonment for the simple fact of being a part of the metal scene.
Fortunately, this sad story of forced relocation is having a pleasant following chapter, with Trivax establishing themselves as one of the most exciting and harrowingly brutal death/black acts on the rise. After a debut album called SIN in 2016 and a couple of strong EPs, Eloah Burns Out sees them really come into their own. A crushing and dynamic record with zero filler, it references the main members’ Middle-Eastern origins without any kind of gimmicky subterfuge, with the ambiances being expertly weaved into the songwriting itself. They call what they do “Eastern Death Magick” and, well, we ain’t arguing with that.
The subject matter of the album, not surprisingly, is as dark as it gets. Shayan told us that “Eloah Burns Out is a rather long and retrospective piece of work, and a deep journey through the multiple different accounts of Death and how it connects to our entire world and reality. Each song deals with a different characteristic and perspective of Death, be it that of the murderer in “Alpha Predator”, or the one of the individual in “Twilight of Death” — or simply, the death of God during the final song of the album.”
As for the song in question that we are revealing today, the frontman explains: “”Azrael” or “عزرائیل” is the scythe wielder and the Angel of Death in Middle-Eastern mythology, as well as all Abrahamic faiths. He is a terrifying and menacing figure to behold, as he is the last thing any man faces during their lifetime. I’ve always been a firm believer of starting the show with a big bang, so the same principle hereby applied to the beginning of this album. “Azrael” is a fierce and relentless opus of ecstatic, cut-throat and violent black metal. It is also one of the shortest Trivax songs in existence, period. The rest of the album, whilst still maintaining the violent aspect of the music, deals with a more retrospective and more melancholic approach. “Azrael” doesn’t have time for that. It’s an assault of all senses from the moment it starts all the way to the end. With Death being the main concept behind the album, we decided to make a highly elaborate video project, dedicated to this enigmatic yet terrifying figure. In almost any middle-eastern country, the simple name “عزرائیل” strikes fear in the hearts of all the people. The intense visuals, lyrics and music in this final product are merely an exaltation of Death and all that relates to it, as well as a tribute to its one true master.”
So there you have it – a fucking immediate banger with no time for melancholy, whose mere title is enough to strike fear in the hearts of all men. You’re welcome!
Eloah Burns Out is out on September 29 via Cult Never Dies, and you can pre-order it right now at the label’s webstore.
