Album Reviews : Vahrzaw – Acquiesce EP

There are a hell of a lot of fast, straight forward death metal bands around. There are so many of them that I tend to make quick judgements about whether they are just another generic death metal band, or something a bit more special. Well thank god (or satan, or Lemmy, or whoever you worship) I wasn’t in that kind of mood when giving Vahrzaw a listen, because there is much more than first meets the ear on this EP.

There are parts of this release that do sound a bit generic, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing in this case because it’s still very solid music. There is easily enough variety, however slight the variations might be, to keep the listener interested for the full 25 minutes.

The opening track in particular features lots of variety, switching from fast, brutal death metal to some slower, more eerie black-metal inspired sections, to some slightly more tech-death sounding guitars toward the end. The vocals alternate between deep death growls and higher black metal shrieks. This theme of switching between death and black metal styles is fairly constant throughout the album and the two blend together well for the most part.

Other than a few highlights in the first couple of tracks, the drums are somewhat unexciting. The drumming fits in, it certainly doesn’t sound out of place, it just seems to be too simple. With the diversity of styles that the vocals and guitars go through, the drums should follow, but instead they constantly stick to the same formula and style for most of the EP.

The mix is pretty good, although there are times where I think the guitars should have been more prominent, but it’s not bad enough to take too much away from the music. Overall, while this album doesn’t break any boundaries, it’s a solid album that most death metal fans will enjoy. It’ll be interesting to see whether they can keep the same variety and the listeners attention throughout a full length release in the future. 6.8/10

Band: Vahrzaw
Album: Acquiesce EP
Year: 2007
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Hecatomb Records
Origin: Victoria, Australia
http://www.myspace.com/vahrzaw

Track Listing:
1. Mysteries of the Worm <- reviewers choice
2. Bore Black Feathers
3. Sedate Me
4. Pest Ban
5. To Wander Eternal Corridors