Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Judas Iscariot > Demo > Reviews
Judas Iscariot - Demo

The beginning of a legacy - 83%

Scarred_Soul, April 8th, 2005

Judas Iscariot has always been one of my favourite artists over the years I have been into black metal. I was lucky enough to find this demo. Akhenaten is a genius in the way he plays fairly minimalist evil and depressive melodies. Many people just deem him as a total Darkthrone rip-off but I have always found something extra. He just seems to be able to pull off more passion and a greater atmosphere than Darkthrone ever managed to.

The production on this demo is very raw and primitive and is surrounded by a fairly heavy load of static. The drum machine is used very well without sounding to dominating. The only let down with it is that there is practically no variation within the programming within each song. The overall mix is not bad except that the vocals are a little over dominating and tend to drown everything else out.

The guitars often perform some excellent riffs but more often than not they just sound bland. They range from fairly slow depressive riffs to a chaotic assault. The blast beat section in Babylon in Ruin is really cool and definitely gets my head banging in tune. I will never get bored of listening to this part. The guitars use very few chords which has always been his style. The problem is with them on this demo is that they sound very weak in the mix and often they just sound bland, like they do in Unholy Victory. It often leaves you craving for something more.

Akhenaten has always been very passionate in his vocals and this is no exception. He sings very hatefully with a sense of sadness. There is very little variation in his voice but this is no disappointment as he performs them so well.

The problems in this demo lie in that the sound definitely needs some refining and the riffs often sounds fairly bland but you can hear glimpses of Akhenaten’s genius that he comes to terms with later in his career such as Heaven in Flames.

Overall this is a very good demo and shows the potential which Akhenaten carries that he begins to grasp later in his career. This is an excellent start to an excellent career.