Loss of Our Final Pride

"Loss of Our Final Pride" is a great example of the first wave of Israeli black metal. Pure and simple, here we can hear music in the vein of Salem. Early Salem, without "experimentation". That is, there is no black metal in the modern sense here, and if we talk about genre, this is rather melodic heavy metal with significant influence of doom metal. At all events, the first song "Ceremonial Death" leaves such an impression.

Although the vocals on the "Loss of Our Final Pride" album are "black metal-ish" at 100 per cent. Very strong voice, harsh while also ariose – to be envied even by true black metal bands. The vocals dominate the recording, sound like main "instrument". Maybe that's the main reason why Aztec is considered as a black metal band.

Well, for that matter, black/death metal can be easily identified on "Loss of Our Final Pride" too. Sometimes. For example, in the solo part of the first song, then in the speed part of the second song "Abused in the Future", etc. Something in the spirit of early Necrophobic or Dissection. Against the background of the main genre of the album, these inclusions of Swedish melodic death metal, although they sound seamless and organically, are perceived almost as inserts "for a change". The same function on this album is performed by ambient tracks.

To the credit of the non-metal instrumentals (there are three of them: "Wolf's Dirge", "Until the Holocaust...", "Prologue"), they don't give the impression of being hastily created solely to increase the duration of the album. However, they deal successfully with this task too: without them the duration of the album doesn't reach half an hour. Nevertheless, the atmosphere of these instrumentals is... fatalistic and funeral? Very likely.

Strictly speaking, in the first electronic composition ("Wolf's Dirge") "death metal" is heard even more than in the mentioned melodic death metal episodes – such a strong dead atmosphere in this track (the rest of the instrumentals are just ambient). Electronic samples are arranged with the synthesizer part very artfully, so when listening, we get quite otherworldly feeling.

But we have to remember about metal too. Melodic guitar solos are typical for Aztec – especially we'd like to make a point of fourth song "A Place of Evil Born." Even if solos are perceived only as a "background", their beneficial impact affects the overall picture of the album. It's elegant metal music.

This album is the debut, and sadly the last album of the oddly-named Israeli death/black metal Aztec. The name would've been pretty fitting for the music if the band had more common traits with the long-inactive Aztec empire rather than the Swedish influences that are scattered all over this album.

Think of Loss of Our Final Pride as a mixture between Dissection, early Unanimated, and the local Salem- which its lead singer produced this album and the drummer contributed songwriting and a few keyboard tracks. The band itself shows a very strong sense of songwriting, with one of its highlights being the notable kickass melodic death metal riffs. These manage to kick ass, with displaying a wide array of influences. There aren't many tremolo riffs here, but instead, mid paced leads that immediately bring Moonspell's Wolfheart to mind. Catchiness is a major factor when discussing this exquisite riffage, due to the overt melodiousness (but in a good way) of some songs here- with the most notable being "Ceremonial Death," "Twisted Misconceptions," and "The Aztec." The melodic factor isn't saccharine nor abundantly used, and is characterized by drab and gloom, and most importantly, doesn't stick to the basic 7-9-10 on the A string "oh I'm sad and melodic" riff that is seen way too much in melodeath/black bands.

The death metal influences come forth especially in tracks such as "A Place Of Evil Born," and "To Die by the Sword," in which the intense double bass drums are mostly heard and the riffs are more reminiscent of early At the Gates.. The drumming has quite common characteristics of the genre and is especially evocative of the drumming style used in Unanimated's debut- a lot blasts over mid paced riffs, pummeling double bass, and a whole lot of creative fills to fill you up with drum joy. The rhythm section is co-dominated by the heavy bass, with its bounciness and audibleness giving the album a warmer sound. A balanced production shines through Loss of Our Final Pride, giving each instrument its place alongside the vicious early Salem-y vocals.

Synth and keyboard interludes consist almost a fourth of the album, for the better and for the worse- they're played by the almighty drummer Nir Nakav of Salem fame, and are repetitive, atmospheric, and cold. Their overt repetition is an element that brings them down, and some seconds of these interludes could be cut down for a better effect. The repetitiveness in the song structures is definitely an evident thing in this album, but surprisingly, it isn't invasive or obnoxious when refering to the non-synth parts.

This unknown gem ends with another synth instrumental, a few minutes of silence, and a great short piece of piano before brooding screams enter in the background, and then dominate over the background piano before falling silent as this album ends. It's a great piece of 90s melodic black/death metal- especially when made by a few teens who wanted to sound like their heroes. Very recommended.