Axis Of Advance – Landline
re-released on Grief Foundation, 2008 (clear vinyl)

Landline was the debut offering by Axis Of Advance, a band that rose out of the ashes of Sacramentary Abolishment featuring 2/3s of the SA lineup plus the addition of “session” drummer J. Read. Like the Canadians do so well, this band straddles the line between death and black metal with a high level of proficiency. This 3 song EP (2 originals and a cover) may seem like something a band might release as a teaser, but this stands as a fine mission statement for what this band would set off to do, featuring sharp and ambitious songwriting and disciplined execution.

I was more familiar with Read and Vermin’s work in Read’s primary band Revenge, and followed the trail back to this re-release of AoA’s first output. While Axis Of Advance does feature the same ferocity of Read’s drumming in Conqueror and Revenge, the full range of tactics employed by AoA build a much broader foundation. The opening track “Curtailing Factors of Interference” is over 9 minutes (and the entire first side of the record), and unfolds as a tightly constructed tactical offense carried out with militaristic precision. Opening with a blasting assault, the track slows enough to shift its weight and then launches into a black metal whirlwind of razor riffs and Read’s trademark drumming. Throughout the course of this track as well as their other original “Structural Interpretation Via Superfluous Union”, we see the band switch up and drop in deployments of death metal breakdowns, doomed wardrum dirges, and frenzied bestial bursts.

As further testament to their technical prowess, the band concludes with a cover of “Re Animation” by classic Canadian thrash metallers Sacrifice, and is spot on in speed and intensity. This EP totals up to just shy of 20 minutes, but these are indeed all live rounds, no blanks to be found in this performance.

Originally released by Catharsis Records in 1999, this stake in the ground places them firmly at the vanguard of the Canadian black/death sound, marching forward and greatly expanding upon the works of their previous groups. This re-release comes on clear vinyl in a nice glossy cardboard sleeve with insert.