Review Summary: Demonic Resurrection return with their third studio album, this band step's up their game.
The Return To Darkness is Demonic Resurrection's third full-length and their first on Candlelight Records. This band is one of the first extreme metal bands from India. The band has once played symphonic metal but is now playing progressive black/death metal with symphonic touches.
Demonic Resurrection is:
Sahil Makhija - Vocals and rhythm guitars
Daniel Rego - Lead guitars
Husain Bandukwala - Bass
Virendra Kaith - Drums
Jetesh Menon - Keyboards
Let's get on to the tracks.
1. BETWEEN INFINITY AND OBLIVION: The album kicks off with an instrumental and although it sound's quite familiar, the track takes you to a dark place and gives you the perfect feel for what is about to follow. Overall a tasty opener for a song ready to explode.
2. WHERE DREAMS AND DARKNESS UNITE: This song hits you right away with the guitar and drums and has a sinister vibe throughout. Sahil definitely sound's a lot better and has improved greatly since ADD. At 0:40 the pace slows down a bit and then quickens up again while the keyboards remain consistent. At 1:31 a breakdown comes in which is followed by a lot of nice guitar. This song features clean vocals by Sahil at 3:52 and the chorus is catchy and fits into the song. This will definitely go down a storm live.
3. THE WARRIOR'S RETURN: A very atmospheric intro starts this song and the aggression really heats up, Sahil's growls have stepped up a notch and the drums are insane. At 2:45 the song has a break where Mephisto comes in with his beautiful piano melodies and Daniel play's an awesome solo. A lot of time changes are in this song and it has a progressive feel to it. At around 6:15 a beast of a solo comes in that will melt your face right off and then the song ends.
4. A TRAGEDY BEFALLEN: My favourite song on the album would have to be this one, it features outstanding guitar and keyboards while Sahil's clean vocals really shine. The chorus is pretty catchy which will have everyone singing along. At 3:52 Daniel plays a blinder of a solo which is short but effective. An awesome mid-section follows which is kind of like Maiden meet's death metal. The bass mix is a little low in most parts but not here and Husain's bass really stands out. The song ends with a clean riff and a harmony leading into the next song. All in all, a superb track.
5. THE UNRELENTING SURGE OF VENGEANCE: This song is the first single and has a brilliant video. It's quite savage and the riffs really hit you hard along with some awesome drums from Virendra. No guitar solo here which might disappoint a few fans but overall it wasn't really needed as the song is already strong. Not the best thing on here but it's definitely immense live, a solid track.
6. BOUND BY BLOOD, FIRE AND STONE: Another one of my favourites which starts off with cool riffing and drums and then Sahil belts out 'Mark my words'. This song features clean vocals in the background which adds nicely and sound's fresh. Awesome keyboards come in at around 1:30 which is followed with the clean vocals again shortly afterwards. Husain's bass lines also stand out here. A real killer song with brilliant riffs and top notch drumming, definitely a highlight.
7. LORD OF PESTILENCE: What a class A song we got here and it's also the longest peaking in at eleven and a half minutes. This song is a crowning achievement for the band which should propel them to bigger heights. For the first 3 minutes it's all calm with nice clean riffage with Sahil's clean vocals and then mayhem breaks lose with everyone going on full throttle. At around 5:00 excellent riffs are accompanied by Sahil screaming 'The darkness will reign supreme'. At 6:16 we have a solo which lasts just little over a minute. At around 8:00 Jetesh begins the next section followed by the guitars complementing his playing. The last 3 minutes of this song are progressive death/atmospheric metal. One of the best songs on the album.
8. DISMEMBERING THE FALLEN: This song features nice guitar and keyboard harmonies which is hardly surprising and Husain's bass lines here are pretty good. Not one of the heaviest songs on here, it features two guitar solos from Daniel and some piano. The riffs are very catchy in this song. Not much to say here, another brilliant track.
9. THE FINAL STAND. As the album comes to an end, we are treated with another epic on this great album. It begins with a keyboard and drum intro and in comes Sahil's growls. At around 2:50 an awesome part comes in and the pace slows down which leads to nice keyboards and clean vocals. A solo follows which fits the mood of the song and then quickens up. The last section here is quite atmospheric which leads to the album closer.
10. OMEGA, I: This is the only song to feature lyrics by Daniel while the rest were done only by Sahil. A very nice intro which leads to clean vocals at 0:35 which is then repeated. This song has some really top notch riffs and harmonies and at around 2:20, awesome drumming comes in from Virendra. This song has a very epic feel to it. At around 6:00 the song slowly starts to fade with an awesome riff followed by clean vocals. The darkness trilogy has ended and what a conclusion it has been, a brilliant album closer.
This is simply a superb album. No fillers here at all and the band sound immense, a return to darkness indeed. This band deserves a lot more recognition and I recommend this to fans of melodic and symphonic black or death metal. This is definitely worth checking out.
Recommended Tracks:
A TRAGEDY BEFALLEN
BOUND BY BLOOD, FIRE AND STONE
LORD OF PESTILENCE
