Artist: Azathoth’s Dream
Country: USA
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
In 2023 Azathoth’s Dream debuted with an impressive debut called ‘Nocturnal Vampyric Bewitchment’. Maybe not completely out of the blue as it was preceded by a demo tape a year prior, but since I had missed that one I was left with a lasting impression of that first full-length offering. Strictly speaking, ‘Solitary Forest Necromancy’ is Azathoth’s Dream’s third album. However, ‘Infernal Necromantic Mysticism’, published earlier this year, contains only 30 minutes of Dungeon Synth and therefore this latest can be regarded as the spiritual success of the 2023 debut album. Also, the project has grown to a band now that drummer Necroblaster (also in Luring) joined in, making Azathoth’s Dream even more pronounced product of the Order Of The Broken Sword, an inner circle that, besides Azathoth’s Dream, consists of such bands as Wuldorgast, Luring, and Sigorspéd – all bands affiliated with the German Iron Bonehead Productions label.
If, for the sake of convenience, we leave the Dungeon Synth album out of consideration, we are hearing basically the same things as we did on the band’s debut album. Yet, there are a few very striking difference that makes ‘Solitary Forest Necromancy’ quite a different beast. As said, the majority of the Azathoth’s Dream’s cornerstones are intact, but the changes can mostly be found in the cosmetical department. Where the debut album had a rather charming muffled production, generally fitting to the vampiric theme, ‘Solitary Forest Necromancy’ has a much stronger and sharper sound. With these enhanced production values the music opens up more for the much more prominent role of the keyboards. You could even go as far as to say that Azathtoth’s Dream has gone from Raw Black Metal to Melodic/Atmospheric Black Metal.
Listening to both albums in succession and keeping in mind Lord Azathoth’s penchant for keyboards, hence the Dungeon Synth intermezzo, this development is by no means a surprise. Plus, ‘Solitary Forest Necromancy’ shows that he’s very capable of blending the basics of Black Metal with a more keyboard-driven take on the genre. He undoubtedly demonstrates a strong sense of songwriting, something he already did on his first album. Still, as a whole this latest feat is just a little less captivating than his debut album. While the dominant role of the keyboards bring some fresh air into the mix, it also brings a certain degree of monotony and one-dimensionality to the music. Especially after a few spins the songs tend to sound alike and display a too great a lack of identity. That doesn’t mean this is a bad album, not by any means, But I can’t completely suppress a slight disappointment after that very solid debut.
