Demonical are from Sweden and this is their seventh album. They play death metal.
I always enjoy Demonical’s work, (check out 2016’s Black Flesh Redemption and 2018’s Chaos Manifesto), so new material by the band is definitely well-received. I never got the chance to review 2020’s World Domination, so now that we have Mass Destroyer I wanted to make certain that this oversight didn’t happen twice. Continue reading “Demonical – Mass Destroyer (Review)”
I’ve decided to do something new for 2020 – a second End of Year list. If you’ve missed it, my standard, definitive best of 2020 list can be seen here, and is made up of albums I was lucky enough to get to review. However, this year I want to also highlight some of the many albums that I’ve enjoyed listening to, but for one reason or another never had the chance to review. So, consider this a complementary list of sorts to the main one. Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List EXTRA! – Best Non-Reviewed Metal of 2020”
Demonical are from Sweden and this is their fifth album. They play death metal.
Featuring members of the mighty Centinex, (whose singer and drummer have joined the band for this release too), Demonical play a darkly melodic version of Swedish death metal. Having Continue reading “Demonical – Chaos Manifesto (Review)”
Demonical are from Sweden and this is their latest EP. They play Death Metal.
I’ve always got time for a bit of Swedish Death Metal, and this latest EP by Demonical serves as a suitable ambassador of the style for anyone who’s unlucky enough to be unfamiliar with it.
That Swedish chainsaw presence is accounted for, as are the dark melodies and heavy grooves that so endear the style to so many.
Demonical do this proud sub-genre justice and these four songs are exemplars of the style.
The riffs are superb and everything is heavier than Hell. The drums crash like explosions and the vocals are so deeply satisfying it’s a joy to hear.
Each track here is very well-written and really hits the spot. Swedish Death Metal gets by on songs, rather than speed/brutality/extremity/technicality/etc. just for the sake of it, and these songs are tight, precise, very heavy and instantly appealing.
Swedish Death Metal has its detractors of course, and as such not everyone will be as gushing about this as me. The thing is though, even if you have had your fill of the style, I fail to see how this can’t relight the passion you must surely have felt at one point for it. I mean, deep down, everyone likes this kind of stuff really, I know they do. What’s not to like?
But I digress. I’ve not encountered Demonical before, but based on Black Flesh Redemption it seems like this has been a crying shame as this EP is really damn good.
At only 17 minutes in length and containing more quality Death Metal than most bands manage in twice that, this is an EP that you must add to your collection.
A firm essential purchase for all Swedish Death Metal fans. For all Death Metal fans, in fact.
Just Before Dawn is an international “supergroup” of sorts. This is their second album.
This is a war-themed Death Metal album in the Swedish style, replete with Chainsaw sound and harrowing melodics. This is combined with a good Bolt Thrower influence to produce the mother of all War Metal sounds.
The album features contributions from members of bands like Megascavenger, Massacre, Bolt Thrower, God Macabre, Bodyfarm, Aeon, Puteraeon, Morgoth and Demonical. Due to this, you know it’s going to be played and performed well, which it is.
As this is essentially Swedish Death Metal there are no real surprises here, content-wise, but that’s not important; what is important is the songs themselves and how good they are.
The calibre of the musicians involved and their collective experience means that they are not found wanting in this regard, of course. The songs are as warlike and bloodthirsty as you would expect.
The tracks pound and demolish their way across the battlefield like an armoured steamroller; heavy, relentless and unstoppable.
In some ways there’s not a lot to say about an album like this. If you like the Swedish style, if you like Bolt Thrower, if you like good riffs and good songs…you’ll like Just Before Dawn.
Check them out.
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