Every time I go on the hunt for new music, I never know what to expect. On one occurrence in late March, I stumbled upon Azusa ahead of their upcoming record release. “Hooked from the start” is an understatement, I was immediately attracted to the band’s brand of oddball, multifarious approach to their presentation. With some more research, I discovered the band to be a supergroup including Liam Wilson from Dillinger Escape Plan, Extol’s guitarist/drummer, and, strangely, vocalist Eleni Zafiriadou of pop effort Sea + Air. I am excited to delve into Azusa’s newest album, Loop of Yesterdays.

This album starts at supersonic speed with “Memories of an Old Emotion,” complete with vocals that vary from devastating to divine. Sounding like Mastodon at one moment and Evanescence the next, the range at play here is sure to entertain listeners and reel them in from the first track. Next is “One Too Many Times,” fading in with a monstrous riff taking precedence thanks to strong production. Layered clean vocals on top of gentle guitars soothe the tone in between colossal-sounding sections. The dichotomy of this track’s slow, methodical pace in comparison to the opener’s quick meter shows Azusa is capable of mastering their sound at all speeds.

“Detach” channels what sounds like some of Meshuggah’s best work in its early proceedings, with reverberating vocals throughout that are as haunting as they are beautiful. A tasteful, flashy guitar solo closes this song, which earns its fadeout. “Seven Demons Mary” starts up with some tom hits that make me wish I had drummer David Husvik’s set; regardless, his performance to this point and on is top-notch. “Support Becomes Resistance” segues the listener with a brief 30-second transition through a short riff.

“Monument” has a nice back-and-forth between uncleans and cleans from Eleni in its chorus. A bit more uniform in song structure than previous tracks, this makes for the most accessible piece of Loop of Yesterdays so far. The album’s title track follows, with spoken word bridging into yet another pretty falsetto, which then leads into a soft guitar hook. “Rapture Boy” continues the trend of fascinating guitar runs and dynamic drumming.

“Skull Chamber”s slow start lets Liam take the spotlight with focus on the mystifying bass line before some more rising action leads to a powerful climax. Intertwining more spoken word and clean vocals gives off a chilling atmosphere. “Kill-Destroy” lives up to its violent title, boasting a vicious tone and this time layering the guitar riffs spectacularly with one getting more precedence than the other.

“Golden Words” utilizes double bass in an unusual placement, like the earlier “Skull Chamber” did. There’s a lot of shredding to be had in this track, with power chords in the chorus and just about everywhere else. Loop of Yesterdays finishes off with “Aching Ritual” with the shortest runtime save for the interlude. Packed within 2 minutes is unbridaled controlled-chaos to close out the record strong.

Coming across Azusa was one of the highlights of my March, an uncharacteristically-crazy month. It is during these times that we need to hash out our problems, and there’s no better way for me to do so than with heavy music. Azusa’s brand of it shines in Loop of Yesterdays, and, while the sound sits in a comfort zone with a pretty steadfast structure throughout the album, it’s a sound that doesn’t need fixing. Discover Azusa when Loop of Yesterdays releases on April 10th!

A review copy of Loop of Yesterdays was provided by Solid State Records for this review

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Azusa - Loop of Yesterdays

$9.99

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Tight production
• Hard-hitting vocals
• Memorable riffs

Cons

• Little variety