Demonica – Demonstrous (2010)

Featuring Hank Shermann from Merciful Fate fame, Demonica is here to capitalize on the current revival of Trash Metal. And they do a great job at it, kicking ass in every direction this album takes.

You can hear some Slayer-style vocals (which are not my favorite), but the best element in this album is the guitar riffing: it’s amazing. If you are not a big Trash Fan you should get in on the action right now, since there are many brilliant albums being released these days.

While new band’s out there are trying to re-hash as much stuff as they can from older bands, older bands are trying to re-hash their own stuff, and other band are moving away from pure Trash Metal by introducing Groove elements into their music. We get Demonica that brings in-your-face Trash Metal and blows 90% of the competition away.

In the ten tracks that this album features, we have a wide variety of songs that will surely keep the listeners focused since they considerably vary in intensity. You have very brutal sounding songs like “Luscious Dammed” and “Alien Six”, however they never loose the Trash Metal edge, and are great to keep the album fresh and never having a dull moment.

We think that most people that enjoy Trash Metal is because of the riffing, and on this album you will find a fine collection of ‘trashy’ riffs as well as intricate solos that make the songs brilliant just by themselves. If you pair it out with powerful bass guitar line and excellent drumming you have a very solid release.

If you like melody as well, the band has plenty of section with melodic parts and some songs like “Below Zero” showcase the band’s versatility. There is never a dull moment in this album and you will notice from start to end. The variety within the songs makes this release flow seamlessly.

Overall “Demonstrous” is a great first release from this already established group of musicians. This album serves as an example to other bands that you can still be yourself and release albums without the need of re-hashing and stealing other band’s sound or identity.

Release: February 26th, 2010

Country: Denmark