Azusa: Breaking The Cycle
While the crisis-that-must-not-be-named is currently rampaging around the globe, many of us have turned to music for comfort more so than ever before. The silver lining is that with more time and opportunity to delve deeper into band discographies and explore the connection that we feel with music we have an opportunity to surpass sonic horizons and engage with the industry in a more intimate manner. Landing slap-bang in the middle of quarantine life, the sophomore record from self-coined avante-thrash rockers AZUSA is the perfect antidote. As insane as it is a finely whitted piece of art, Loop Of Yesterdays was quick to turn heads with it’s dramatic flare.
As far as resumés go, an amalgam of past members from EXTOL and The Dillinger Escape Plan is not a bad place to start, especially once completed by vocalist Eleni Zafiriadou of SEA + AIR. With such a wealth of experience and aptitude thrown into the pot, it was probably inevitable that this supergroup would hit the ground running, but being two albums deep in the space of two years is no easy feat, and it is the manner of AZUSA’s success that impresses the most. Shaking off preconceptions of past projects is perhaps a prerequisite, as ex-DILLINGER bassist Liam Wilson tells us, “it’s amusing to hear that we sound like DILLINGER when I’m not and have never been a main song-writer or major factor in the song structures of either band, outside the bass parts.” There is a certain irony to preconception, and Liam continues to say, “I think AZUSA stands out as unique by being almost anthropophobic towards the opinions of anyone outside it’s four members.”
Eleni Zafiriadou adds another perspective to this, as her non-metal background meant she actually had to look up many of the comparisons thrown their way, as well being slightly perplexed by the parallels drawn to her as a ‘female singer who screams.’ Her identity and that of the band goes a little deeper than that. AZUSA actually started to record the new record before they had finished their debut Heavy Yoke. It feels tighter and more defined than its predecessor, owed largely to the group continuing to gel. Liam says, “the most obvious element to our deeper maturation is having more time to develop and deepen our personal connections and our understanding of each other’s motivations and strengths.”
This clarity and innate focus spills into the writing itself, allowing for deeper themes and concepts. Perhaps rather aptly given the current global setting, the songs on Loop Of Yesterdays are snapshots of a crisis, a word derived from the Greek word ‘krisis’ meaning decision or turning point. These recurring album themes were triggered by a real-life event and the title track was inspired by one of Eleni’s dreams. “I’m trapped in a continuous loop, walking around the exterior of the same house over and over. After every round I stand in front of the door trying to get in, but my shaky hand can’t manage to put the key in the door,” she says. “The line ‘I cannot lose myself in a loop of yesterdays’ was a daily reminder that helped me to get through a painful period in my life. Yes it’s dark and scary, and yes I’m lost, but I also have the keys in my hand to find a way ‘home’.” It is imagery of this nature that allows AZUSA to be such an intriguing project, one about which David Husvik says, “I can’t promise you’ll fall in love with, but I doubt you’ll get bored.”
There is certainly an air of aplomb amidst the batshit crazy thrash metal that AZUSA spew, a quality that goes deeper than just the music. The album art itself is part of the process, crafted by German artist Klaus Rinke. “The title is ‘Wasser schütten um mich herum’, which means Pouring Water Around Me,” Eleni tells us. “I’m sure he had something completely different in mind with his original performance, but looking at the photograph is very soothing to me. I associate the element of water with catharsis, with him standing in the centre to get an overview of what’s really going on in life. Different angles, different perspectives.” AZUSA themselves are a brilliant example of beauty coming from calamitous, random chaos. They are as unpredictable as they come and often afford us the chance to feel complicated emotions. As Liam puts it, “I would love it if listeners could tap into the cognitive dissonance we felt when creating this music, and I would love for those feelings to be new experiences for the listeners.” Rather than just trying to frazzle our brains with bipolar thrash metal, AZUSA want their listening experience to be one that leaves us ameliorated, and perhaps better equipped to tackle the world than we were before.
While we cannot get out to shows or even leave to spend time with loved ones, we have the perfect opportunity to take a deep dive into bands like AZUSA and really challenge our emotions in new ways. Although as Eleni puts it, “stages are better than the living room, and analogue is better than digital,” right now we need any excuse we can to feel alive, and this quartet afford us the perfect excuse to connect with our humanity. Or perhaps all we need is a larger-than-life slab of skull-crushing metal, in which case, they more than tick that box as well.
Loop of Yesterdays is out now via Indie Recordings/Solid State Records.
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