Monday, May 12, 2025

Full Length Review: Asagraum "Rituals in the Dark Temple" (Azermedoth Records) by Dave Wolff

Band: Asagraum
Country: Netherlands
Genre: Black metal
Format: Digital, CD
Label: Azermedoth Records (Mexico)
Release date: February 14, 2023
For a comprehensive sense of Asagraum's live experience I watched random Youtube videos while checking out their 2023 album "Rituals in the Dark Temple". After doing a search I found several live clips of the band, which was a good opportunity to add something visual to what I was listening to. I was first struck by how professionally the dissonant black metal written by founding member Obscura was presented on both mediums, with unusual guitar scales and a strong sense of her love for the genre.
I wanted to clarify I’m not covering this band solely because the members are female. In roughly ten years, the band has accumulated a substantial fan base. Fans of underground and extreme metal, in my experience, are mostly an intelligent and respectful bunch, so I'd gather they're accepted due to their ability, not gender. After hearing the album and seeing them onstage at YouTube, I don't see any sort of gimmick at play here. The feedback I hear they’re receiving from reviewers can substantiate this.
Currently based in the Netherlands, Asagraum derives its name from the Sumerian mythological demon Asag and the German word for "room". Obscura founded the band in 2015 with Norwegian drummer T. Kolsvart, but they parted company after some time. Since then they gained recognition in black metal communities by performing with a variety of musicians, issued three full length albums, and recorded "Rituals" at Mexico City club HDX in 2022. The recording benefits greatly from a private setting.
Obscura (who also works with Draugur, Obsidian Sun and Wolvenbloed) takes her commitment to black metal and the left-hand path seriously as an artist. Her perspective is unmistakably hers, motivated by autonomy and belief in nonreligion. Asagraum plays a stripped down black metal style with little theatrics besides corpse paint and stage lights for ambiance. It’s somewhat likened to classic Norwegian BM with a unique arrangement of notes, tremolo picking, discordant chords and sharpened vocals.
Instead of writing songs conventionally, Asagraum takes liberties with writing as if conjuring occultic visions. This resourceful approach makes "Rituals" more of a ceremony than a show, symbolically summoning malignant phantoms. Presented with unanticipated turns, each song has a distinct path to follow. The intro is brief and the band starts the show on a primal note, but their uncommon methods of writing slowly seeps into the picture, gradually beguiling you until you’re fully enchanted.
I have no doubt that the fervently devoted metal fans in Mexico reacted well to what Asagraum had to offer. As you listen to "Rituals," don't forget to check out their most recent full-length, "Veil of Death, Ruptured," which explores the themes discussed in greater detail. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:
Obscura: Vocals, guitar, bass
A Morthaemer: Drums

Track list:
1. They Crawl from the Brocken Circle
2. Transformation
3. Daar Swaar Ik Sterf
4. Leviathan
5. Black Sun Prayer
6. Dawn of Infinite Fire
7. I Burn Within the Devil
8. Black Triangle Temple
9. Waar ik Ben Komt de dood
10. Carried by Lucifers Wings

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