RBOTD #208: Asfix
What happened?
https://www.metal-archives.com/band/view/id/3540456806
Country: Greece
Location: Chalcis, Central Greece
Genre: heavy/thrash Metal (early); alternative rock (later)
Formed in: 1994
Status: split-up
By the Numbers
Asfix is the:
39th band formed in the 1990s
Second band from Greece
69th band that is split-up
Its genre tags have been seen:
Heavy: 40 times
Thrash: 42 times
Alternative: First time
Rock: 15 times
Member Connections
Asfix is a bandalone.
Know 'Em?
Nope. I am now 10/208.
Sketch Check
Pass.
RateYourMusic Scores
Asfix has not been rated.
Adjusted scores are calculated similarly to the Trad Belt scoring system. Please read that column for more information.
Trifecta Tracker
Asfix did not achieve the trifecta.
A band can achieve the trifecta by titling a song after itself on a self-titled release. Iron Maiden's "Iron Maiden" on 1980's Iron Maiden is an example of the trifecta.
And we're back on track. Asfix, not to be confused with the four other bands that went by Asphyx, including the famous one, was a heavy metal band from Greece. Its demo debut, Έξοδος κινδύνου, "emergency exit" per Google Translate, reminds me of the shaggy NWOBHM singles that I love, getting by less on skill and more on moxie. "Πόλη Των Αγνώστων," the song that's easiest to excavate from the depths of YouTube, is imbued with that ineffable '80s heavy metal strut, like Tony Manero walking around town in a leather jacket with a big-ass Blitzkrieg patch safety-pinned on it. Close your eyes and you can almost see this bicep-flexer sticking out of a crate owned by a young Lars Ulrich, one of 50 singles mailed to the budding tennis star that were bought sight unseen. Heck, if you press whatever screen your reading this on to your ear like a seashell, you can also almost hear the obligatory AC/DC-ass B-side, can't you? "Πόλη Των Αγνώστων" is not good, but it has good heavy metal vibes, therefore it is good. Ah, but are you ready for the bombshell? Supposedly this came out in...1996. How is that even possible? That's the same year as None So Vile. In Greece, Rotting Christ's Triarchy of the Lost Lovers dropped in 1996. Heck, Zeminal's For the Glory of UR was also in the newborn wing. Asfix sounds absolutely ancient in comparison, some real Encino Man stuff. 1996! Time, it is weird!
The other available track from early Asfix is "Ασφυξία," which, at least in its compilation incarnation, has a thrashier feel, albeit as thrashy as a Holocaust biter can get. It's primitive, particularly the drums, but the guitars get in a few OK Iron Maiden licks. Strictly upper crust bar band stuff, but it's similarly blessed with the beguiling heavy metal charm of "Πόλη Των Αγνώστων." I don't know, a band containing a high concentration of heavy metal spirit can get away with a lot. Does anyone have this tape? Upload the whole dang tape.
By 2005, the heavy metal spirit was long gone. Five years deep into the new millennium, Asfix was snoring through exceedingly empty adult contemporary rock. This stuff suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks, like listening to your dad's band working through Opus covers with D-rate Santana leads. What the hell happened to Asfix in between its demo and its lone album, Δέκα ευχές πρίν γεννηθείς?
The lesson here is avoid getting old if you can. Have a great weekend. I'll see you Monday when you're two days older.
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