Demon-Haunted World

REVIEW ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AT WWW.TEETHOFTHEDIVINE.COM BY ERIK THOMAS

I really wanted to like this. After all, it’s on Profound Lore Records, features the legendary Dan Lilker (Nuclear Assault, Brutal Truth), members of doom act Orodruin and they play a totally old school form of death/black/thrash metal culled straight from the early wave of extreme acts likes of Venom, Celtic Frost, Nifelhiem, Sodom, Bathory and such.

So what’s not to like? Basically, the vocals of Ron Blackwell (the only member not in another band, so the effort reeks of favors from the other members) almost ruins the material for me. Whil certainly old school, his drunken, slurring throaty yell, just kills it for me, no matter old school they sound which is a shame as, riff and atmosphere wise, Demon Haunted World is chock full of raw, old school, late 80s metal moments with a dash of old death metal a la Autopsy (just listen to the start of closer “Anus Mundi”) and more recently Death Breath. The sound is the complete opposite of most of today’s polished pro tools, triggered metal, instead reveling in sloppy, crusty, primal throes that are enjoyable. When Blackwell isn’t singing.

Had this thing had some slightly more extreme and darker vocals (which Blackwell does deliver here and there), the overall result would have been far more satisfying, and especially when you consider the grasp the other band members have on the presentation of the old school sound. The scrawling, punky guitar work on tracks like “Skull Smashing Face Ripping Death”, “Honor”, “Curse Of The Plasma Hound”, “Witchgrip” and Autopsy worshipping duo of “Tumefaction” and “Witchgrip” might be some of the best retro metal riffage to surface recently that’s not just thrash worship or forced.

Still, though even with the off-putting (but not quite album ruining vocals), right down to the creepy interlude to “Neon Corpse”, is far more retro than many bands that simply think slapping an Ed Repka cover on a CD and wearing some denim is throwback. These guys get it and cement it with a cover of Angel Witch’s “Angel of Death”.

Crucifist is a black/doom metal band from Rochester, NY that has been together for about 4 years before releasing their first full length. The band features Dan Lilker of Brutal Truth fame and members of Rochester, NY based traditional doom metal band Orodruin. With a line up like that this album couldn't be bad right? Well it isn't and it's not your typical black metal either.

Musically this sounds like first wave black metal. The songs all feature great driving up tempo riffs as well as some mid tempo and slower doomy riffs. The riffs are simple but very effective and played very well. The songs are structured so that nothing feels out of place and each riff transitions smoothly to the next. The riffs owe as much to Hellhammer and Bathory as they do to Paul Chan and Black Sabbath. The guitar tone is very similar to the aforementioned bands too. The guitar tone is very bassy rather than the trebble "chainsaw" tone of the newer black metal bands.

The bass is very audible and driving, exactly what you would expect from Dan Lilker. The bass provides great rhythm and compliments the guitar perfectly. Same goes for the drumming, it's simple but effective and suits the music perfectly.

The vocals are raspy but peformed well enough that the lyrics are mostly understandable. The lyrics are mostly horror based, many of them sound like death scenes from cult Italian horror films by Fulci or Argento. Honor is an exception as it breaks the gory horror theme and tells of the horror faced in the everyday life of a gladiator. The lyrics are intelligent and very well written, proving that the band thought carefully about their lyrics.

The production is fitting for the music, not too raw but not overproduced either. The production gives the music a creepy atmosphere which makes the listener feel like he/she is part of the desolate scene depicted on the album cover.

This is highly recomended for any fans of first wave black metal, traditional doom metal or old school death metal.