PAZUZU (Costa rica) Oath of Unholy Sacrilege Tape. Out now!

The first review of the PAZUZU tape was published on VOICES FROM THE DARKSIDE Webzine:

Deep in the underground of the world of Death Metal there are always some hidden gems that need and want to be discovered. And when I say “world”, I mean it, as there is no real surprise about the origin of a band any longer. In this very case, the country is Costa Rica and the band is called PAZUZU. Even though this San José based four piece started in 2005, it took them more than a decade and a longer period of hiatus to finally record some stuff. And they still haven’t really recorded that much yet. The discography of PAZUZU only contains a demo and five songs for three split releases. The recently released limited tape “Oath Of Unholy Sacrilege” compiles all these five songs with an extra track. Half the compilation consists of the songs from a split album PAZUZU did with Polish THRONEUM in 2018, called “In The Crypt Of Hakeldamach Feld”. And these three songs alone are worth getting “Oath Of Unholy Sacrilege”, unless you’re not into finest Doom Death Metal for some inexplicable reason. PAZUZU celebrate the style of old AUTOPSY and comparable acts from the days of yore in a way that is just a pure joy. Raw, down tuned and quite roughly recorded, it is especially ‘Calamity And Death’ that even features some classic Doom harmonies really hits my nerve. The other recordings are more contemporary. ‘The Crawling Depths Of Christendom And Abominations’ was released on a split with MORBID PERVERSION from Brazil in 2019 and shows PAZUZU still very rough and as fine. I just love the grinding guitars in the slow parts here! The most recent song ‘Ceremony Of Inception (Part 1)’ (from a split with ANATOMIA released last year) takes the same line and tops a collection off that should be a pleasure for all those who really dig some filthy and rude Death Doom. People like me, so to say. As a bonus, “Oath Of Unholy Sacrilege” features a live recording from 2019 of the old NIHILIST classic ‘Carnal Leftovers’ that sounds quite okay. Yet I could have done without it either, as it doesn’t completely fit the five original songs. But, as I already said, the PAZUZU songs are worth getting this tape.
https://www.voicesfromthedarkside.de/review/pazuzu-oath-of-unholy-sacrilege/

Hello,
New reviews of the PAZUZU tapes were published!


DEATH METAL.ORG Webzine (Usa)
For most listeners, the core of Pazuzu can be expressed as an Autopsy-inspired take on grindcore, with the slower doomy riffs like the tug of a scalpel through flesh alternating with bounding hardcore riffs much as the Bay Area band applied, but with elements of black metal and doom metal filtered in.
Not every riff will be a standout, but Pazuzu alternates between the time-honored language of death metal and grindcore riffing and its own vocabulary of elaborate but not predictable architectures, sort of like the ruins of an ancient civilization drapes in the vines, moss, and foliage of the forest swallowing them from without.
While a listener can expect a thoroughly “old school” experience, much of this album consists of an appreciation for where the band deviates unpredictably from its main riff pairs in each song, venturing down dark pathways in which a subconscious order hints at itself rather than gesturing clear tokens, producing a wonderfully ambiguous if sometimes uneven experience.


LA LEGION UNDERGROUND Webzine (Fra)
Originaire du Costa Rica et formé en 2005, Pazuzu offre une cassette album limitée à 201 copies trouvables dans la mythique distro : Nihilistic Holocaust.
Cette cassette album est plus un 'best of' qu’une cassette qui offre des compos toutes fraîches, car il me semble que les titres qui figurent sur "Oath of unholy sacrilege" sont déjà sortis sur divers split .
Quoiqu’il en soit, ce groupe obscure de death doom, par cette cassette, nous donne l’occasion de découvrir leur musique sombre.
6 titres et 30 minutes influencés par Death sur certains riffs, ainsi que par Autopsy ou Grave.
Le premier titre, "Entrapment in gloom" est suffisamment éloquent pour qu’on capte de suite l’univers musical du combo.
Une voix grave, une rythmique lourde... L’ambiance est dark dans la première partie de la compo. En fait, ce morceau me fait penser à une longue intro qui met l’auditeur en bouche pour ce qui va suivre.
"Calamity and death", le titre suivant, est plus dans une veine 'Suédoise oldschool' au niveau des riffs qui sonnent vraiment Dismember et compagnie. Le titre est plus épicé que celui qui ouvre la cassette, bien que les passages doom restent foncièrement présents.
Un peu plus loin, l’enregistrement est diffèrent, ce qui confirme que les titres qui figurent sur la cassette sont tirés de différentes périodes.
La prod est moins puissante, moins épaisse et plus fade, ce qui laisse retomber la pression du début.
La tape se termine par un morceau live, présent sur une de leurs sorties de 2018. On capte un peu plus ce que le groupe propose en public, et l’enregistrement reste d’assez bonne qualité.
Au final, Pazuzu est un des rares groupes du Costa Rica qui peut avoir une exposition plus poussée et il serait dommage de passer à côté de ce combo totalement dévoué au oldschool et a l’underground.
Amis du death doom, bonne écoute ! Vous savez où trouver ce brûlot.


METAL MANIA Webzine:
Štvorčlenná death/doom banda z ďalekej Kostariky si hovorí Pazuzu. Prisahajú na bezbožnú krádež, takže vydali debutové EP s týmto názvom – ,Oath Of Unholy Sacrilege
Pazuzu je v starovekej mytológii zlý démon. Má príšernú tvár a šupinaté telo, z ktorého vyrastajú štyri krídla. Jeho ,pôvod‘ je nejasný. Najstaršie civilizácie sa striedali medzi jeho uctievaním a obávaním.
Kvarteto z Kostariky, zeleného klenotu strednej Ameriky funguje naozaj undergroundovým spôsobom. Vzniklo v roku 2005 v hlavnom meste San José a jeho diskografia obsahuje iba jedno demo a päť skladieb na rôznych vydaniach.
Debutové EP je vlastne limitovaná kazeta (201 ručne číslovaných kusov s 12-stránkovým bookletom), ktorá tie songy obsahuje. Polovicu tvoria kompozície zo splitka s poľskými Throneum – In The Crypt Of Hakeldamach Feld. Ako bonus je živý cover z roku 2019 od starej klasiky Nihilist – Carnal Leftovers.
Myslím, že táto svorka si zaslúži objavenie. Je to death/doomová pitva žánru, inšpirovaná samotnou pitvou, ale aj black metalom.
Pod ruinami a nánosmi starej európskej a americkej školy vyhĺbili Pazuzu nové temné chodby plné nejasností a mŕtvolných mien, ktorými vás prevedú.
Inovácie tu nenájdete. Iba surový zvuk a decimujúci metal, ktorý sa drží hlavne stredných a pomalých, miestami melodických temp na hranici s pravekou primitívnosťou tohto štýlu.
https://www.metalmania-magazin.eu/2021/09/20/pazuzu-oath-of-unholy-sacrilege-ep/


GUTS OF DARKNESS Webzine (Fra)
Une fois n'est pas coutume : j'ai les glandes. J'en ai plein le godet ! Et comme d'habitude, c'est comme si j'avais mon compas interne qui s'ajustait automatiquement pour m'orienter les oreilles vers ce qui marchera le mieux pour habiter cette tension, cette nausée, cette rage qui fait grincer les dents quand la putain de photocopieuse de merde veut pas faire un truc simplissime, quand le Neme casse burnes s'étale à la téloche, quand Xavier du bureau 302 me vomit la blague pourrie de trop ! Alors destination le Costa Rica, on enfile les écouteurs, on se torche le bananier et on se fait masser la haine par ce death tout cradopoulo mastafuite, avec le son qui grésille comme il faut, la voix dégueulasse qui te chie à la raie, les cassures de rythme pour briser les nuques : on s'imagine facilement les 45 degrés dans le bar de fond de saloon ou les central-américains de METAL vont faire tourner les cheveux tout empegués de binouze trop sucrée. De la violence, de la saleté, bien jouée, bien produite, qui sert la tradition, mais qui ne va pas se la péter : Pazuzu confirme une fois encore que, pour les amoureux des vieilles lunes droguées type Autopsy et compagnie, on saura toujours se tourner vers l'outre-Atlantique pour récolter sa dose quotidienne de démonerie avinée ! 4/6


BRUTALISM Webzine (Hol)
Costa Rica’s Pazuzu have unleashed a small compilation album spanning their work since 2017 and onward that consists of split albums, demos, and one live album. The result is just raw, old school death doom that sounds like a mix of very early Paradise Lost meets Dismember meets Gatecreeper. The sound just oozes with simplicity and yet it works very well. While the recording quality sounds almost live the entire way through due to the distortion and grim production, when grinding through a track like ‘Entrapment In Gloom’ one cannot help but get swallowed up by the ravenous tones, be it the droning guitars, the guttural vocals or the sludging pace, this is the kind of death doom that makes one feel like there are drowning in quicksand, but at least having a grooving head banging time with it. There is very little progressive or symphonic elements here- the music is simply chugging riffs that are catchy, plodding drums, and bellowed vocals, pretty much a sound anyone who is used to late 80s/ early 90s death metal will enjoy. As the album picks up, Pazuzu shifts more towards a faster tone, opting for more of a standard death metal approach, leaving it to the lengthy guitar solos to bring out the doomier elements, but it still hits hard despite that some of the tracks tend to sound the same after a while.
As the album progresses one can tend to tell which tracks were picked from which ‘era’ of the band’s career so far. ‘The Crawling Death…’ features a deeper raw tone that crushes with the same vibe as the earlier tracks which were mostly present on their 2018 work. But then there is ‘Ceremony of Inception,’ where the sound is very different, especially with the drums. It is lighter and quieter compared to the other tracks and the guitars are even more fuzzed out, which is ironic because this is from a later split in 2019, so it sounds like the group is regressing in their sound, but perhaps that is on purpose to showcase their ‘old school’ features. The closing live rendition of their Nihilist cover ‘Carnal Leftovers’ features a very muddled sound, save for the vocals which come through clearly, but everything else feels buried. Very old school, very raw, and certainly proving that these guys can sound as good in the studio as they do live.
For fans of more modern death metal, Pazuzu may not be for them. This is more your underground, hole in the wall playing band that keeps things simple and loud. They may never achieve stadium worthy status, but certainly can earn a cult following for their raw, no holds barred presence in the metal world. To obtain this album is a little niche because a lot of the group’s work has only been released on cassette so far, trying to stay true to the old school vibe. “Oath Of Unholy Sacrilege” is not for the faint of ears, but those who like death metal dirty with a bit of groove will certainly enjoy it.


CANADIAN ASSAULT Webzine
Pazuzu rise up out of the mountainous and often picturesque country of Costa Rica and have been plying their trade as a band in the UG metal scene with releases since 2017. This tape is a compilation of sorts, it includes all of the bands tracks from their various split EPs over the last few years (plus a bonus live cover of Nihilist’s “Carnal Leftovers”) for a total of just over 30 minutes. Pazuzu produce a very morbid and macabre death doom metal style of music. Their sound while extremely brutal is also produces a really suffocating and oppressive atmosphere that is both punishing and compelling to listen to I find. The doomy parts are crushing and steam roll the listener slowly into dust, but when they do speed things up you can really headbang to it too and just bleed with it. The recording and the music is extremely raw and primeval, which really suits the music and helps create a gloomy aura. That aura calls back to some of the early classic bands and albums of the genre (Autopsy, Grave, Immolation, Rippikoulu, Disembowelment, Abhorrence etc…). They definitely wear their hearts on their sleeves with some of their influences, but I am okay with it when it is done this damn well. Considering these tracks came from three different releases that came out over a period of a few years, it all comes off feeling very cohesive and I enjoyed it a lot. It makes me want to pull out some of those classic to listen to some more. This is a really good looking release, it comes on silver cassette with a beautiful fold out (like a mini-poster size) 12 page booklet. But I believe it has been limited to only 201 copies, so you better get on your horse and ride quickly to make sure you can secure a copy of this excellent release. You can thank me later.


UNDERGROUND INVESTIGATION Zine (Fra)
Originaire du Costa Rica, Pazuzu pratique un death metal old school, comme on savait le faire aux origines, avec les démos de groupes comme Grave, Asphyx, Gorement et compagnie. Avec, peut-être, un peu plus de technique, quoique que j’ai un doute là-dessus. Nihilistic Holocaust dont l’une des spécialités est encore de nous proposer des formats K7 en tirage limitée (200 exemplaires pour celle-ci), est aussi un spécialiste de l’underground et, avec ce Pazuzu (à ne pas confondre avec tous les
autres), nous avons droit à une compilation de six titres de death traditionnel teinté de doom, avec une production, une fois de plus underground, mais tout aussi claire. Le groupe, formé en 2005, n’a pas évolué dans l’esprit, pour garder celuici intact. Cette K7 s’adresse plus au fan qui cherche un objet de collection qu’au fan de death « actuel », pour qui ce produit sera un poil trop primaire. Bravo Gabriel, continue à nous faire découvrir avec passion tes groupes obscurs, car ils le méritent vraiment. Quand la passion dépasse les modes, les vrais fans sont ravis. Merci !