Demoncy
Empire Of The Fallen Angel
5.5
It looks as if there’s nothing but American black metal on my plate this week, with reviews of this album, Forest of Impaled’s newest, and constant recreational listening of Absu. Unfortunately for Demoncy, they bring up the rear in that particular unholy trinity. From what I’ve read elsewhere, Empire of the Fallen Angel strays from the path they’ve blazed on acclaimed albums like Joined in Darkness and Within the Sylvan Realms of Frost. Whereas before they played a grim, raw style in the vein of Darkthrone, I can say that this album sounds more modern. First of all, the production is bottom-loaded, but quite clear, and definitely not minimalist. Think of how Dissection’s Storm of the Light’s Bane sounds for reference – it’s produced exactly like that album, a simple low-tech production job. Demoncy specialize in that style of repetitive riffing that makes many notes sound like few. EEEEBBBBBBBCCCCFFFFFF-type melodies. The vocals are a deep throaty rasp. All the while, the drums are racing along at supersonic speeds. This leads to my major complaint with this album: the drumming, while certainly precise and able, is too unvaried. While the handwork changes a little, the kicks seem stuck at the same high speed for nearly the duration of the album, resulting in a steady tempo throughout, and a general numbing feeling after listening to a few songs. Fortunately, a couple of songs break the mold, like “Sepulchral Whispers” and “Warmarch of the Black Hordes”. Both are more ambitious numbers that begin slow, like an army (of black hordes? heh) marching into battle, and steadily building, but never quite reaching the scathing pace of the rest of the album. Empire of the Fallen Angel did not make much of an impression on me. It’s got all the warmth of an icy blast of arctic wind, which is normally a good thing, but only when this is conveyed through a variety of songs. Ultimately, Demoncy wrote a good song, and then re-wrote it five more times, with the exception of the two mentioned earlier. As always, I’ll recommend that the black metallers out there give this album a fair chance, as they’re obviously an established act, but there are albums more deserving of your dollar than this.
