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Demonic Resurrection

The Return To Darkness

Written by: PP on 08/12/2010 22:33:25

Metal's coverage as a genre extends even to the furthest corners of the world. Bands with unexpected quality rise and make a name for themselves from places you wouldn't even imagine to have a metal scene, and thanks to the internet, they're as close to the fans of the genre as their US and UK counterparts, at least in theory. Demonic Resurrection is the first Indian metal band I've come across, and the quality within their symphonic black metal/death metal is staggering when taking that fact into consideration.

Stylistically, Demonic Resurrection share a whole lot in common with the genre heavyweights Dimmu Borgir and Cradle Of Filth, which is not surprising, considering only the most famous and commercially successful black metal bands would be able to make a name and following in a place as far away as Mumbai. So you can expect dramatic symphonies and growled vocals, and overall excellent musicianship throughout the record. Where Demonic Resurrection deviate from the heavyweights, however, is in the use of clean vocals. Every now and then a surprising, lengthy clean chorus / verse is thrown in for good measure, and this makes all the difference in the world when it comes to comparing these guys to the rest of symphonic black metal bands. It simply saves them from being a part of the indistinguishable gray mass of bands, as demonstrated in a song like "The Warriors Return". Also, it's not all symphonies and tremolo riffage. In fact, there are lots of melodic solos and killer riffs that bring to mind Children Of Bodom and other Finnish melodeath bands from ten years ago rather than your typical black metal bands. Thumbs up for the variation.

The songs are lengthy, all tracks surpassing the five-minute mark and most lasting well beyond six minutes - with a mammoth 11 minute track as the albums centerpiece - but that's okay because they aren't repetitive at all. There's so much originality and freshness in their sound, largely thanks to the clean vocals and the melodic riffing, that it's hard not to think of "The Return To Darkness" as a slightly better album than the big names produced this year. There's one way the record could be better, however, and that is if they were able to somehow integrate some cultural tell-tale signs into the music that would set them apart as an Indian band. A lot of Middle Eastern metal bands do this to a great extent and critical acclaim, and I believe it would also extend the appeal of Demonic Resurrection much further, arousing interesting by default just because it's so different. As it stands now, it's still a solid record for anyone into symphonic black metal.

Download: The Warriors Return, The Unrelenting Surge Of Vengeance
For the fans of: Dimmu Borgir, Cradle Of Filth, Emperor
Listen: Myspace

Release date 02.08.2010
Candlelight Records