Standing Before The End Of Time
(Xtreem Music)
36:45min
I know this band form their debut recording “The Onset Of Chaos” on the now defunct Witches Brew label. And very little has changed since. They still play maniac Thrash Metal with some of the most wicked / irritating / maniac vocals out there for a Thrash Metal band that sounds like a Black Metal high-shrieking vocalist stranded in a Speed / Thrash Metal band. Music-wise the band has never lost its charisma of doing well-played, aggressive Thrash / Speed Metal recalling ancient glories like VIO-LENCE, KREATOR or DARK ANGEL and very early Death Metal with a technical touch. In fact, the overall sound of this album for some reason reminds me of those obscure Deathrash heroes HELLWITCH in many ways. With performer names like “The Atomic Puppeteer Ruler Of The Everlasting Fate Of Mankind” on guitars, there is an obvious dark humor going on and in fact you can feel it, in a similar way I can sense Japan’s SABBAT does while playing. I also find the production to very adept to the music played, it does sound good, and avoids doing that crappy too-polished-too-perfect values that makes a mediocre band sound like they know their game. No, this recalls the essence of those great demos form the early 90s. And while speed is the name of the game the band is also capable to keep it interesting in many tempos. Add to that a very good bass sound and performance and we almost have a winner. Almost. As told before the vocals are a love-hate thing and that might as well be a weak point for some or a strong one for others. Personally I tolerate the vocals but at a few times they sound a bit out of place. Still, the fact that it recalls old times in such a natural way makes this worthy of listening if you feel attracted to the bands mentioned in these lines. Great cover art by the way. These Barcelona based foursome (yeah, yeah the place of that soccer team) used their native Catalan to name the band as “Demon” with a curse or “Re-Demon”. http://ca-es.facebook.com/pages/redimoni/41895181680, www.xtreemmusic.com
Julián “Facing Pazuzu” Núñez