One of the most singular entities on American soil, BAAZLVAAT have been creating a weird, wild world across six full-lengths, and all since 2020. Hailing from Flint, Michigan – a city whose water supply was once massively polluted, and otherwise the embodiment of the crushing aftereffects of the Industrial Revolution – this idiosyncratic collective could make black metal purists cry, simply for the fact that they eschew the usual “cult” signposts and acid-fry a whole host of non-metal influences into their black metal. Remember how the original wave of BM prized unorthodox approaches and how nearly every band had their own particular identity? BAAZLVAAT do, even if they were likely too young to be alive for that epochal Second Wave. With that in mind, ever want to hear the infamous Woods of Infinity play private-press epic metal in a cabin choked by toke smoke? That’s one way to approach the band’s most recent album, Ridiculed by the Common Soldiery, but not even such a hypothetical approaches the madness and delirium within this LP. Curiously, this concise 41-minute work (all but one of their albums has dwarfed an hour-plus) is BAAZLVAAT at their most rocking, dishing out molted NWOBHM melodies astride a usually jaunty medieval gallop, all rendered in ripped-raw tones that paradoxically retain stark clarity. Strange synths – some folkloric, some vampiric, most rescued from a warped ‘80s action-movie VHS – blare in and out of recognition, often overtaking proceedings but evoking a fever dream where orks brandish neon swords and drive go-karts up and down the walls of a translucent castle made of ice…or something. Or look at the cover art and just imagine the common goat warrior choking on his own bile. BAAZLVAAT are not for you: “the dark comedies of the barbarians come to life”!
Red LP in Japanese style tip-on jacket, with OBI strip.