In a scene that’s constantly moving forward, it’s only natural for new names to appear here and there as time goes on. The pursuit for greatness and the seeking for excellence that can scantly be found elsewhere even in the same reaches of the underground is something that many strive for yet, as you might imagine, not many are able to ascertain for one reason or another. Every so often, we get something that is just extraordinary. When Aawks first came onto the scene just a few years ago, I don’t think anyone expected the avalanche of immensity that was to follow. Clearly, though, we’re dealing with the real deal in more ways than one. With their brand-new effort, Aawks offers even further irrefutable proof that they’re a certifiable phenomenon.

Dealing with a band like Aawks, it can oftentimes feel as though anything is on the table. An act that never once seems to stop challenging itself nor does it stop nor stutter in the face of great adversity whatever it takes the form of, a name like this is something that does not come around nearly often enough. Aawks has made a tremendous name for itself for all that it has already accomplished in no small form thanks to their supreme understanding of the style as a whole, and it’s with their newest offering of “On Through the Sky Maze” that they’ve taken on one of their heaviest incarnations to date with all the power, pummeling, and satisfying immensity that one could dare ask for. Devastating in its heaviness and simply delicious in its carefully crafted riffs that stack upon each other in such a satisfying capacity that one cannot help but bask in such awesome glory, it’s the vastness of “On Through the Sky Maze” that constantly impresses me even after becoming lost in its majesty for hours on end. Doing far more than just channeling some of the great influences of the genre, Aawks delivers a journey that’s mystical and incorporeal down to the very soul of the record itself such that you can’t even look upon the work without being influenced by the deep incantations that are painstakingly woven through every bit of “On Through the Sky Maze”. That’s not to mention the intoxicating bounce that Aawks manages to inject into each track for an otherworldly level of intoxication. Pure and simple: Aawks still has so many surprises to offer us with the whole of this work an offering we should not pass up. To do so would be to turn away greatness itself.

Aawks has been on the rise since they came onto the scene, and I believe it’s every moment of this album that the band is going to see yet another surge to propel their names even further and cement it as a need-to-know, must-respect, mandatory name in the underground whose magnificence, intensity, and craftsmanship is not to be denied. This corner of the underground is constantly frothing at the mouth for efforts like “On Through the Sky Maze”, and it’s only fitting that Aawks would be the ones to deliver in such capacity.

“On Through the Sky Maze” releases on May 2nd!

PRE-ORDER “On Through the Sky Maze” on Bandcamp here.

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