Aristocracy proudly arrives in yet another interview. This is number 29. This time, we will talk to a band that we have been following for some time and now their journey begins. We are talking about the Pakistanis from Azaab. They show us their debut album entitled Summoning The Cataclysm.The band have this formation:Saad Latif on Vocal,Afraz Mamoon\Shahab Khan on Guitar,Waqar Ghayas on Bass and Adhytia Perkasa on Drums.All band answer our questions.Let's go to a song of theirs so that you can follow this exclusive chat in all your emotions.
A1:Talking about the composition work in Summoning The Cataclysm?
Azaab:Most of the album was written during the first wave of the pandemic, which gave all of us a lot of time to focus on songwriting and pre-production.Surprisingly, it only took a few months to write the composition.Afraz(guitar) joined the band later that year but contributed quite a lot of music and lyrics to the album.
A2:How band doing an vile atmosphere?
Azaab:That term was used to describe the overall sound of our album.We believe that the mix between the style of the music we play coupled with the style of production which is raw and has a lot of bite, creates a very raw, sinister and vile atmosphere.
A3:Why a Decapitated Cover?
Azaab:Decapitated is one of our favorite bands and Vogg is an incredible songwriter.We’ve always wanted to do one of their covers as part of an album.We even did a decapitated cover with the old members when we first formed in 2016.
A4:Some literature or film inspire the band?
Azaab:Across the five of us, we’ve definitely read a lot and seen plenty of movies;so we wouldn't be surprised if subconsciously some of that inspired the tracks.But most of what we write about is based on reality. You will find songs about cataclysmic events, misanthropy, politics, serial killers and sci-fi but even those are used metaphorically.A song with seemingly sci-fi lyrics might actually have been inspired by real world events.
A5:Is it correct to say that when the band talks about human nature, you talk about it in a pessimistic way?
Azaab:That's correct.There is no other way to describe human nature no matter how hard we try, we never have anything positive to say about humanity. Just look at our history as a species.
A6:How come emerged the invites to Aissam El Hassani and Nick Mkhl?
Azaab:We thought it would be great to have some blackmetal style vocals on one of our songs so instead of having our vocalist try to do this ,we decided to have some guest vocalists on this particular track and this is where Nick and Aissam came in.They were recommended by our friends and they did a killer job!
A7:How band doing a dissonant progressions ?
Azaab:We like to use a variety of different note intervals in our music depending on the harmonic characteristics we are aiming to achieve in a specific song or part of a song.Dissonant voicings are a part of that toolkit. They can be used to create eerie/ominous sounding passages, which we find can be especially useful when highlighting a particularly chaotic moment in the song, or even help serve as a bridge between complex key changes.
A8:How to bring beauty to horror?
Azaab:That's a very interesting but broad question. In our opinion, horror doesn't have to be beautiful, it can be romanticised but horror can be ugly and therein lies its "beauty".
A9:How is Azaab different from your previous bands?
Azaab:We believe that everyone in Azaab is on the same page and we all have a very similar taste in music which is very important.We all know each other well and it's a very comfortable working environment.We also have great communication and respect for each other's talents. Sonically,we believe that we have a unique sound and different from anything, anyone of us has been a part of before.
A10:What kind of subject don´t deserve an Azaab song?
Azaab:Most pop music subject matter is a big no no.I don't think you'll be hearing an azaab love song anytime soon. We will probably always write angry songs with angry lyrics disguised as horror or fantasy or whatever else we can muster.
A11:How emerged the invites to Bobby Koelble and Phil Tougas?
Azaab:So as we worked on the record,we thought it would be great to have some guest players contribute solos to some songs on the record.We were discussing this one day and thinking of people we should reach out to. Shahab suggested Bobby and everyone agreed. We’re all huge Death fans,it's one of our favorite bands and Symbolic is probably our favorite record by them.Bobby has a very unique approach to soloing, his choice of notes, the melodies,the phrasing;its mind blowing.Another reason we thought it would be great to have him play on the record was the fact that his approach is very different from any of the solos on the record.Similarly, we were thinking about our 2nd guest.Afraz suggested Phil and we agreed that yeah, it would be amazing to have him contribute a solo. We love First Fragment and have been following many of Phil’s other projects as well so we knew Phil would bring something amazing to the table.
A12:What's the idea behind artwork´s album?
Azaab:The artwork tries to encompass the overall unifying theme of the album. It's also a direct reference to the chorus on our track 'When Worlds Collide' where it talks about the asteroid 'Apophis' colliding with earth.
A13:Is man an animal that carries the corpse on its back all the time?
Azaab:To quote the lyrics of Warbringer "from the moment you were born, you were dying with one foot planted in the grave" and If I understand the question correctly,I believe that all living beings are carrying a corpse on their back. The only difference between humans and other animals is that we are self aware of our own mortality.
A14:This album is conceptual?Yes or no and why?
Azaab:It's not a concept album in the traditional sense i.e we didn't decide from inception that we were going to write a concept album. However, as the songs progressed we did start seeing a core theme emerge.
A15:How did the band arrive at Satanath Records?
Azaab:We signed with Satanath Records and our other Label Maxima Music Pro through the old method of sending out demos. They were amongst the first labels to get back to us and showed great interest in our Album.
A16:What bands influence yours?
Azaab:In terms of influences, it's quite a long list but it would definitely include the likes of Death, Decapitated, Nile, Morbid Angel, Vader, Abysmal Dawn, Cannibal Corpse, Necrophagist.
A17:Based on the songs of the album and your own opinion,is it better to think of the human being as agony than an animal for health?
Azaab:If we look at human history,we can see how the human race has had a detrimental effect on the planet and other life.Us as a race of beings are highly destructive and may very well bring about our own demise.
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