I am not a hater of deathcore, but the tag does tend to make me hesitate. For every Born of Osiris there are at least 10 piles of insipid BLUUUUUUUUUUUUURGH. Luckily, Azgard from the Ulkraine leave the bro-offs and chugging to the amateurs, instead creating satisfying songs that cover a wide range of beauty and brutality.
From the opening notes of "At the Break of Day" we are treated with some delightfully technical death metal guitar with just enough djent to bring out the primal without losing the focus on composition. Now I don't want to leave the bruh's out. There is definitely some fist pumpage to be had with tracks like "Be a Man." But even these songs more brutal moments are offset by a surprising bass intro and bizarre interlude.
Really, the death and core elements are already above average, but where the album really shines is in the fusion of progressive metal elements. They start to rear their head on "The Evil is Coming," but it's not until "Eastern Winds" that they truly take flight. This gorgeous track is filled with melody and concise vision without ever sacrificing heaviness. "Icon" is another great song that goes full split personality between After the Burial and Whitechapel.
I could go on and on from here. "Farewell" is a beautiful celebration of anguish and hope with dozens of spine-tingling tech death noodles and 90's metalcore melodies. Vocals jump from hardcore to intense death croaking without skipping a beat. Speaking of which, those last three words is something this drummer never does. It's hard to pick a favorite track out of so many great ones, but I love the speedy little riffs all over "Your God is Silent," and the introduction to "Blind" (and the rest of the song too) is amazing.
At the Break of the Day was a gamble well played. For a small group out of a difficult area for music, Azgard build surprisingly well-produced and incredibly well-structured fusions of the best parts of deathcore, djent, and progressive. This is by far the best deathcore I have heard this year, and the best thing I have heard out of the Ukraine since Nokturnal Mortum. Check it out today as a Name Your Own Price. It's got something for everyone.