At times, I am personally late to the game on discovering some great albums as is the case today with Mazikeen‘s recent release of The Solace Of Death which was released last year via Satanath Records. Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, this is debut full length from the group and personally, this blew me away. Having only been active since 2013 and releasing their first effort in 2017, these guys sound like they have been writing and recording together for a lot longer. Their sound can only be described as an epic mix of symphonic black metal, death metal and some straight from the depths of hell chaos.
The Solace Of Death features twelve tracks including four flawless covers such as Mayhem’s Freezing Moon, Dissection’s Night’s Blood, Dimmu Borgir’s Mourning Palace and Darkthrone’s Transylvanian Hunger which are all classic staples in the black metal realm so it is perfectly fitting to have picked these to close out the album. A major strong point with this release is the song structures. Mazikeen have mastered being able to blend together the best of black metal, death metal and symphonic melodies into some of the most chaotic and unique tracks heard on any album. Tracks like Vexation Through The Golden Sun, Psychotic Reign, and Apostate stand out with their daring usage of multiple tempo changes, plentiful transitions and epic storytelling as these tracks are on the longer side which actually adds to the listening journey.
The Solace Of Death is exactly what we hope to hear from promising bands. After hearing the group’s previous singles and the self titled EP, this debut finally ties it all together and provides and very enjoyable listening experience. If you are a fan of Limbonic Art, old Dimmu Borgir and Dissection or just pure chaotic metal at it’s finest moment, then give Mazikeen a listen.
Overall Score: 9.5/10
Review by Neil Andersen
