Band: Demiurg Album: The Hate Chamber Label: Mascot Records Rating: 8/10 Website: http://www.myspace.com /demiurgofficial BUY NOW!

The first project from Rogga Johansson’s brutal old school death metal band Demiurg evoked a huge amount of commendation from critics and fans alike. ‘The Breath of the Demiurg’ played an important part in the reintroduction of a style, not dissimilar to bands like Sepultura and others from the same era, that we had not seen for many years. Not the first ‘Old School’ death metal band by any means, but it would be fair to say one of the most pure. With new release ‘The Hate Chamber’ they hope to build upon the foundations they laid only last year with their debut. The band’s sound takes a bit of getting used to as they haven’t reverted entirely back to the old days of vicious metal but this slightly unusual adaptation of the style is addictive and you won’t need much time to settle before appreciating the true power of this band. There is no lack of aggression in this album that’s for sure! From the outset the group assert their purpose with a catchy opening number sweetly named, ‘Resurrecting the Rotting’. The hammering drumbeat accompanies a simple riff which carries the authority of those tracks like ‘Roots Bloody Roots’ (Sepultura), which have become implanted in our minds. The vocals leave nothing to the imagination and at the same time bear no great surprises, with a style similar if not identical to almost every other band in the genre. Low and brutal. This track is followed by a commanding track full of much the same as the first but with the inclusion of some more interesting beats. With the third song, ‘The Terror Before Sleep’, I find that ‘Amon Amarth’ is the band that springs to mind, with the familiar atmospheric introduction leading to a thumping guitar sequence worthy of the Viking metal masters themselves. Once again I find myself faced with the onerous, if not too unpleasant, task of choosing just one more song to analyse. After much deliberation I have chosen the 5th track, ‘The Apocalyptic’, because the opening riff reminds me of a strange rendition of the ‘Pulp Fiction’ opening theme...you’ll know what I mean if you hear it! Once this slightly disturbing introduction finishes we are left with some of the most unadulterated music in the genre today. Some of the admirable features include the brilliant arpeggios that run through the main verses leading to a particularly memorable chorus. Admittedly a rarity in today’s death metal! Overall...I loved this album, it had a perfect second album feel. It was a vast improvement on the first and while not unbelievable, I very much enjoyed listening to it. These days quality, original death metal isn’t uncommon, but hardly any that I have heard has quite the same variation as this stuff. A really good album, for fans of all things heavy...’Amon Amarth’, ‘Sepultura’ and a slightly less known band that I reviewed recently named ‘Warmaster’. Check both of them out! Lewis Klein Back to Reviews