Demons

This release is a compilation of Vedervärdig's only two demos. The genre of music that Vedervärdig play is relatively hard to pin down as it is quite a unique beast. I would say that it is a mix of Industrial Black Metal and Black Noise with more emphasis on the Black Metal side of things, as there are clearly identifiable riffs throughout the whole thing with no improvising at all.


The instrumentation and production on both demos is almost identical, so they can be listened to in a row without having to adjust to a radical change in sound. Therefore, this release can be treated more like an album than simply two demos stuck together. There is a very trebly guitar that typically only plays a couple of riffs max. throughout each song. The vocals, that only occur sparsely, are of the rasping variety, which on the first demo are a little deeper. However, the first immediately noticeable thing about this project is the samples, which take the place that a drummer or drum machine would usually occupy. The main ones sound similar to a dulled explosion, which have a rotary sort of effect, as if they were slowly circling your head. The sound of the trebly guitar low in the mix and the pounding, slow turning, fan-like samples used as drums, almost make parts of these demos sound like a Black Metal version of the Tetsuo movie soundtrack. Fortunately, there is a complete absence of bass, as it would have no positive effect on the music. It would simply take away from the abrasive feel of the guitars and get in the way and obstruct the samples.

Of course, there are only so many beats you can do with such massive samples as these, so they are sometimes heavily distorted as the riffs progress or other effects are added or taken away. There are of course other samples, such as the occasional bursts of electronic and signal distortion and some hissing mechanical sounds. These only come in when the music is reaching a crescendo. Naturally, the mix is very important here as well. As I mentioned in my review of Abruptum's The Satanist Tunes, the mix is very important in keeping noise bands interesting, and even though Vedervärdig are not a noise band per se, the ever changing mix is definitely something that is needed to keep the listener attentive. The volume of the different instruments varies throughout the length of both of the demos, although on the second demo it occurs more frequently and is more noticeable. Most are brought to the forefront a couple of times to smother everything else, and occasionally they are brought to the forefront in conjunction with other sounds to just overwhelm the listener. Usually, when the samples' volume is turned up or down, the effect(s) set on them change as well e.g. more distortion, reverb, echoing etc. This creates an atmosphere of great tension and is actually quite hard to listen to at times. The aforementioned bursts of electronic and signal distortion tend to occur here, to really drive the feeling home.


Overall, this release, while one could describe it as minimalistic, also has many hidden qualities which necessitate many listens to fully appreciate. However, despite the endless changing of the mix and the effects used, it can get a bit monotonous in places, so there is definite room for improvement. Still, these are only demos, so the future bodes well for Vedervärdig and I will certainly be checking out any future releases.