Band: Askon
Album: The End Is Near — Re-gnarök
Genre: Black / Death Metal
Country: Germany
Label: Independent
Released: 2024
Introduction
The German duo of Askon is back with their release of their album “The End Is Near – Re-gnarök” a re-recording of their debut “The End Is Near” which originally came out 11 years ago in 2013.
This re-release has a very polished sound, which Askon also has on their previous album. By fusing chunky riffs with blast beats and a gnarly vocal that I really like, Askon has created their style of which I can only call blackened melo-death.
The End is Near — Re-gnarök
Tracklist:
- Intro
- Baldur’s End
- Mourning Worlds
- Near Salvation
- Loki’s Nemesis
- The End Is Near
- Marching Into Doom
- Genesis (A New World)
Heavily inspired by the north mythology, The End Is Near is essentially about the doom of this world, also known as “Ragnarök”. This is a theme that Askon has embraced in all their music and shows through in their lyrics and track titles.
The album is packed with chunky riffs and leans a lot into the death metal side of the genre, but has some cold touches of blackness that keeps me interested. Most so in Sarolf’s vocals, which I mentioned earlier. Very gnarly and throaty, like the nastiest of creatures in Midgard. High tempos are switched up with slower groovy riffs, and it gets my head nodding and my mind kept invested.
Sarolf’s vocals also often come with a rapid fire speed on top of the music, which, I think, is quite pleasant. A good mix of vocal delivery and also with some deeper guttural parts which I think come from another band member, but it fits perfectly in their wall of sound.
Conclusion
A solid re-release from Askon, not something groundbreaking or genre pushing, but not every release has to do that, right? Occasionally, the good old recipes taste best, and for a man with an appetite, this album does fill me up nicely.
I’m quite sure peoples taste will vary a lot with this sort of black / death / melo-death style, but give them a spin and see for yourself!
BMZ Rating: 7/10
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