Welcome To The Graveyard
(self-financed)
22:06min
FERAL has come a long, long way since their days playing juvenile Black Metal – so far in fact, that they were able to tour with MASTER this past February. They were sure to have earned at least a few more fans, and this new demo should serve to keep them won. It is, without question, their heaviest to date. The previous demo, "Graverobber", was purposefully written as a Death’n’Roll demo, the kind of relaxed, but still brutal music pioneered by ENTOMBED and FURBOWL. That approach is fast losing ground with the band, for if "Welcome To The Graveyard" is any indication, FERAL are adopting the sounds that have put the Blood Harvest label in the limelight. This is not to say that they were never good. Quite the contrary. However, with "true" Death Metal being the ever-constant underground preference, the new demo ought to bring them to greater prominence. www.myspace.com/feralswe
Nathan Shapiro
Welcome To The Graveyard
(Bloodsoaked Records)
25:49min
This is a re-release of the fourth demo by Swedish FERAL – not to be confused with the also Swedish (Black Metal), US or the Canadian namesakes. FERAL was formed in 2007 and features members from DARKCREED, BLODSKALD and VALMAR & HOOK. Prior to these they released three versions from the "Graverobber” demo. Two in 2007 and one in 2009. Not knowing any of these, this demo is my oldest reference. And this re-release is a limited tape (100 copies) so be fast. After this, the band would release their debut "Dragged To The Altar” in 2011 on Ibex Moon Records and a split EP with REVEL IN FLESH called "The DeathKult” on Joe Black Records in 2014. "Welcome To The Graveyard” features some old school Swedish Death Metal and sounds like a mix of BLOODBATH and VALLENFYRE. Sometimes MIASMAL comes to mind. Admitted, with so much competition today it’s hard to stand out. Noteworthy, these guys are doing their best and play as if their lives depended on it. All tricks in the book are used and this demo seems pretty gifted with a great and heavy production, a brutal vocalist with a lovely juicy throat and also bass player Valmer stands out with his prescence. The second track ‘Deathbog’ had some promising moments, but still it didn’t blow my mind. Same goes for the entire demo. There is missing one necessary element (or more elements?) which I couldn’t put my finger on. For instance, the chorus in ‘Welcome To The Graveyard’ is as boring as the songtitle and reminded me of the dull track ‘Eaten’ by BLOODBATH. The riffing on ‘The Curse Of The Casket’ is way too crusty for my taste. I could give you with the four words I wrote down as missing factors and their argumentation but in the interest to not bore you I don’t. Maybe too critical, but it felt like the band was serving from the same tap as the two first mentioned bands and missed a change to create something more unique. In the end, this is a very decent demo on which the band shows some undeniable talent and can be proud of. Fans of the Swedish sound should check this out and decide for themselves. Taking the succeeding releases in account, I can’t image we don’t hear more from these guys. www.feral.se, www.facebook.com/feralswe, www.facebook.com/bloodsoakedrecords
Michael Tak
• FERAL - Forever Resonating In Blood (Spitzl)
• FERAL - From The Mortuary (Michael Kujawska)
• FERAL - Graverobber (Nathan Shapiro)
• FERAL - Where Dead Dreams Dwell (Mauricio "Rusty" Sanchez)
• FERAL - For Those Who Live In Darkness (Mauricio "Rusty" Sanchez)
• FERAL - The Deathkult (Thomas Meyer)