Chemical Cascades are from Australia and play Black Metal.
This may be billed as a demo but the usual substandard demo recording is missing; instead we get a perfectly serviceable Underground Black Metal sound that fits the band like a glove and has an especially strong drum presence.
The vocals are howling and shrouded in reverberation. Like a dark aura they saturate the songs and are used as another instrument rather than separate vocals as with most bands.
The unearthly noises the singer makes scream in and out of the tracks like the doppler effect and they sound as if they’re alive. At least; some form of otherworldly, barely-sentient instinctual life.
The music is blasting and melodic with a strong, cold, ominous feeling to it. The riffs are well written and the album art gives a good impression of the frigid nature of the guitars. Each track reinforces the belief that this is not your standard, bedraggled Satanic wannabe band; rather this is a band fuelled by parts unknown and who possibly originate from the very place depicted in the simple-but-enticing cover artwork.
This is deeply satisfying in that it combines elements of harshness, melody and atmosphere all at once without ever giving itself over to any one of them completely. It’s a rewarding listen and promises great things from the band in the future.
At 34 minutes in length this could easily be classed as a début album rather than just a demo. If the band can continue to mine this creative seam of dark inspiration that they have found then their actual début album will be something well worth getting excited about.
A great release from a band you should definitely check out.
Wonderbox Metal 