UK band DEMONS OF OLD METAL assembled back towards the end of 2010 according to their biographical notes, initially consisting of what is described as four veteran musicians, presumably with the fifth member tagging along at some point. So far they have self-released three mini-albums, collectively described as “The Demonic Chronicles Trilogy”, and are about to unleash their first full length production “Dominion” these days.
While I applaud their chosen band name, DOOM for short, I’ll just have to note that for this relatively older brain, the music they explore comes across as more oldish than old, this observed by someone who grew up while the New Wave of British Heavy Metal was happening. These guys appears to draw their main inspiration from the 1990’s and the more intense varieties of metal that grew popular in that decade, and a decade where I have to admit that my knowledge is somewhat barren in terms of music and metal both, as other aspects of life than music had priority throughout most of that decade for me.
When that is said, I’d place this band somewhere within a thrash metal context I guess, and then in one of the more if not extreme than at least intense ones. Perhaps most of all due to some recurring elements that for me points back to the artists that opted to blend hardcore with thrash metal back in the 1980’s, and DOOM appears to explore a second or possibly third generation of such a blend in many tracks.
Intense, dark and dirty guitar riffs is a mainstay element throughout, with a fair share of variation in terms of pace, intensity and grit, ranging from the blues-laden flowing groove-oriented sound on concluding track Get Outa Dodge, complete with slide guitar solo, to the intense barrages and hardcore tinged expression on second track Fakeskin. Along the way we’re also taken on excursions that touch base with more of a nu metal oriented sound, The Quiet Ones featuring some recurring passages fairly close to that style in my opinion at least, and there’s also a few instances where the band takes on an intense style that sports some features of a more industrial character with massive riffs provided in a more angular manner with sickly futuristic synth textures on top for that oppressive, dystopian mood of the kind that makes Blade Runner come across as a romantic chick-flick in comparison.
If you tend to enjoy dark and intense, aggressive metal that appears to draw inspiration from the 1990’s first and foremost, with plenty of pointers towards what I see described as The New Wave of American Heavy Metal, then Demons Of Old Metal is a band that should be an interesting and intense band to get familiar with. I understand that this album is still on pre-order at the time of writing, but presumably those curious should be able to sample the band from their homepage to get a feeling about whether this is an album that merits further inspection or not.
My rating: 89/100
