TRANSFORMATION

Russian band AZAZELLO was formed in early 1995 as a side project for the members of thrash metal act Morg. They have four full-fledged official releases to date, the most recent of these being "Seventh Heaven" from 2004. "Transformation" marks the fifth chapter in their history as recording artists, and was released by the Russian label MALS Records in the fall of 2011. Existing fans might also note that this is the first production featuring what appears to be a brand new line-up.

While Azazello as a band might not be purebred innovators of their chosen genre, their skill in utilizing gritty intensity on one hand and subtle stylistic details on the other make this album well worth experiencing. Fans of Dream Theater and Symphony X will most likely be the key audience for this production, and I presume many of those will find this CD to be a nice addition to their music collection.