If you’re well-heeled in the arts of underground death metal—is there another kind, actually?—the name Mike Hrubovcak should ring a bell. Right. Hrubovcak, not to be confused with his brother J.J., is sort of a Renaissance Man. The frontman’s throated for Vile and Monstrosity, as well as his own weighty projects in Divine Rapture and Azure Emote. Apart from telling tales of colossal death via some seriously powerful growls, Hrubovcak’s also a cover artist. He’s penned rad covers for Sinister, Grave, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, Inhume, and a bunch of other perverts who delight in (mostly) spread eagle dead chicks as art (aka “sweat pants death metal”).
But today we’re not talking about the many things on Hrubovcak’s CV. No, today is singularly devoted to Azure Emote. Started in 2003, Azure Emote issued its debut long-player in 2007 (Chronicles of an Aging Mammal), took a little break, and is back in avant-garde death metal action with the 2013 release of sophomore effort The Gravity Of Impermanence. While label details are currently being “sorted”, Azure Emote isn’t just of note for its wayward, left-of-center death but also for the people Hrubovcak’s brought on-board to flesh out his hair-brained ideas.
Check out this list: Mike Heller (Fear Factory, System Divide, Malignancy), Ryan Moll (Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, Total Fucking Destruction), Kelly Conlon (Death, Monstrosity), Pete Johansen (Tristania, Sins of Thy Beloved, Sirenia), Sandra Laureano, Melissa Ferlaak Koch (Visions of Atlantis), plus Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), Jonah Weingarten, J.J. Hurbovcak (Hate Eternal, Vile, Diving Rapture), and Jason Ian Vaughn Eckert (Aurora Borealis). That’s right. Like Mike, his session ensemble aren’t slouches at their respective professions. And, yes, that’s Hrubovcak cover. Sweet, no?
So, sit back, click the arrow, and be prepared to be transported to places of pulchritude and mortal desistance, aka Monday morning in America.
** Azure Emote’s new album, The Gravity Of Impermanence, is out mid-2013 on an as-yet-unnamed label. But for now nab debut album, Chronicles of an Aging Mammal, as a digital download on Bandcamp or iTunes for a fair price. Get it ’cause it rules!
