NEЯEIS – Azure

NEЯEIS
Azure
Label: Eclipse Records
Out: 21^st November 2025
Playing time: 46:20

The band NEЯEIS from the province of Trentino (officially ‘Autonomous Province of Trento’) was founded in 2007. At that time, they were still known as ‘Black Star’. Initially, they were purely a cover band. They played hits by Metal heavyweights such as Helloween, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Skid Row, Judas Priest and Alter Bridge. However, they also wrote their own songs on the side. Once they had enough of their own material, they released the demo ‘Burnin’ Game’. Two years later, the EP ‘From the Ashes’ followed. In addition, they played at various festivals and live shows. In 2018, the album ‘Turning Point’ was released. Now the follow-up(?) ‘Azure’ has been released.

At the beginning of ‘Around The Sun’, you can hear brief “haahaahaa” vocals accompanied by heavy drums. Then there is a short scream and heavy guitar riffs kick in. The vocals are melodic, often toning down the heaviness of the instruments. At first, ‘Take Control’ sounds a bit dull, but that quickly changes when the heavy riffs kick in. Andrea Barchiesi’s vocals are mostly calm. From time to time, a slight Industrial/Funky edge can be heard. ‘From Scratch’ starts like a quiet ballad. But then hard riffs set the tone. The vocals are partly technically distorted. After a short quiet introduction, riffs also kick in on ‘Tiny Blue Stone’. When the vocals kick in later, they temporarily fade into the background. The guitars sound dissonant at times. Added to this are pressed HuHaHuHa vocalisations. With the ballad ‘Above’, NEЯEIS try to make us forget many of these disharmonies. They show that they can also sound melodic throughout. The crowning glory is a very good guitar solo. This is one of the highlights of the album, at least for me. The title track ‘Azure’ is another ballad and is characterised by electric piano and string sounds as well as fragile-sounding vocals. But then the contemplation is over. ‘Dropping Violence’ is harder again. But melodic, without any weird-sounding passages. Alongside the two ballads, this is one of the best songs on the album. Hard riffs, siren sounds and what are obviously news reports from a radio station introduce ‘Saturn’s Leaving’. Then the riffs compete with keyboard sounds. Towards the end, there is a frantic and fast guitar solo. After a few synths, ‘The Path’ is dominated by hard riffs alternating with calm vocals. ‘Meteors In The Dark’ is the last regular track on the album. Heavily distorted, sometimes funky-sounding guitars are characteristic here. This is followed by two (shorter) radio versions of ‘Take Control’ and ‘From Scratch’.

It’s not easy to listen to the album ‘Azure’. Many of the songs feature dissonance and experimental changes in melody and rhythm. They have moved away significantly from the sound of the bands they used to cover. I have already mentioned the three songs that I think are the best. NEЯEIS have found their own unique style and are clearly sticking to it.

NEЯEIS – From Scratch: https://youtu.be/EGtubrF45Jw?si=w-NQpJqHprkdNqAc

Lineup:

Andrea Barchiesi – Lead Vocals
Mattia Pessina – Guitar
Samuel Fabrello – Guitar
Michele Gelmi – Bass
Davide Odorizzi – Drums

Track list:

• Around The Sun
• Take Control
• From Scratch
• Tiny Blue Stone
• Above
• Azure
• Dropping Violence
• Saturn’s Leaving
• The Path
• Meteors In The Dark
• Take Control (Radio Edit)
• From Scratch (Radio Edit)