Deamon "Synopsis of Sin" CD
[Ghetto Blaster]
Here's some brutal death metal from Canada that blends the old and the new in a manner that I can appreciate, though I personally find it hard not to cite that these guys need a better recording to really pull it off. This sounds sort of like a really, really good demo or a tolerable self-released EP or something. The drums sound really weird with cymbals sort of hovering over everything else, the bass isn't that evident, and the vocals are a little too dominant in the mix. The guitar tone is pretty damn good, it just gets washed over by the swelling forth of the drums, and the vocals sort of pick up what space gets left in the center of the mix. But writing wise I like their classic Florida styled riffs a lot, there are plenty of intense thrashy picking patterns and hammer-on/pull-off riffs, moderately paced chord progressions with cool lead bursts and lots of thick palm-muting, etc. The vocals are low growls that are sort of barked/grunted in a style that makes them a bit more memorably arranged, though they could be a bit more enunciated and pronounced, rather than spurted forth without much definition (like Hellchild, but not as forceful or over the top). At times the songs rely too heavily on tremolo picking and throw in the occasional tech run (without the level of precision I would prefer), at which points I tend to lose interest, but the chunkier and more 90's styled rhythms can bring to mind Malevolent Creation circa "Retribution", which for me is about as good as death metal gets, so that's a huge compliment towards this band's potential. I'm not really into the artwork here, I don't know, overall it looks presentable, but the band logo is sort of cheesy, and the artwork just seems somehow off to me. It's just not very visually interesting is all. Lyrically it's pretty typical death metal: "Buried inside my tomb of beliefs, Stagnant death I breathe the air, Stand dead before you, Bloody and bruised, Disembodied, raped in worship..." Ehhh, no thanks on that. At its best this disc is a great slab of death metal with an ineffective recording, while at its worst it's a boring and somewhat unorganized slab of death with an ineffective recording. The good outweighs the bad, but they're not there yet. I hope they get there, though... (6/10)
Running time - 35:43, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Synopsis of Sin, Tomb of Beliefs, Long Dead Christ]
Ghetto Blaster Recordings - http://get.to/ghettoblaster

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