Demonic Resurrection
A Darkness Descends

Release Date: 2005 | Tracklist

Demonic Resurrection is a metal band straight from Mumbai, Maharashtra India. Not often do you hear about any bands coming out of that region but as of recent years, the Indian metal scene has been packing some serious heat to counter their American and European brethren. Demonic Resurrection is one of the most popular bands around the Indian scene due to their diverse and highly contagious style of music. Demonic Resurrection is a metal band that incorporate many different styles into their sound. Power Metal, Death Metal, Progressive, and even a small trace of Black Metal can be heard in their brand of aggressive music. Although they're from the east, their sound recalls some of the greats originating from the west.

Now we know this band is from India here comes the question. Is this band a novelty act or are they a band to be taken seriously in the global metal scene? Although they don't play anything terribly different than their neighbors in Europe, they exhibit enough talent and skills in crafting each song with enough variety to keep the listener on board. Upon listening the second track of the album "Apocalyptic Dawn", I could hear Children Of Bodom echo throughout with a blazing solo and fast catchy riff work while Mephisto's majestic keyboard run's paint a back drop for the music. The vocal work is much harsher and deeper than Children and at a time on this track, some pleasant female vocals enter the mix, adding some nice diversity to keep the song rolling. To make a comparison to where this band could fit in the metal niche would be between the likes of Children Of Bodom, Skyfire, and any other progressive or melodic death metal band. At times, they bring in an Opeth like dimension to the music, with various changes and tempo shifts. Each song could thrash about with a blinding aggression at one minute, and then kick up to a clean, melodic passage. One good thing about this band is that they add plenty of changes to keep the music fresh and interesting. Do they pull off all this bold experimentation perfectly throughout the album? Of course not, their are some nicks here and there but for the majority of the time, they do a damn good job in crafting each song to have it's own identity. Demonic Resurrection balances the heaviness with the melody at an equal pace, never overpowering the other.

Now, it comes down to the instrumentation. These guys have plenty of talent which they show constantly as the album progresses. The vocal work is top notch for most of the time as plenty of styles are incorporated without having to lean on anything particular. The Demonstealer, cheesy enough, switches between his harsh vocals and his clean singing for the duration of the disk. At times, he uses his gravely death growls to carry the way and then hit a higher register later on. They’re nothing you haven't heard before but executed pretty well and sounds pretty good. As a clean vocalist, his voice can debated because at times he's on the ball and other times he is not. Their are plenty of sections where his crooning positively affects the music and there’s also a few times where it can annoy the listener. Especially when he tries to be a power metal singer. A positive that counters Demonstealer’s limited vocal faults is that female vocals are brought in to enhance the songs. To be honest, I know that isn't a terribly unique idea but it actually benefits the song. Like Children Of Bodom, he carries an axe for the band. The guitar structure is competent and pretty similar to the bands I have mentioned, unsurprisingly enough. Fast blazing tempos, hard, groovy riffs, and plenty of solos make for good fun. Pradeep and Demonstealer trade off at times, demonstrating their guitar abilities. The keyboard work is pretty cool but nothing you haven’t heard already from any of these other Symphonic metal bands. Mephisto is essentially an Indian version of Janne Warman to cut it to a tee. You know what to expect. With the key work playing a huge role and the guitars being as loud as usual I thought the bass would be completely drowned out the whole time. Fortunately that is not the case. Although his role is a minor one, Husain can be heard from time to time with a distorted bass line. Nothing really impressive but at least it’s there trying to make it’s presence known. The drum work is pretty tight. I’d expect nothing less of course. A pretty basic template to this style of music but none the less, Viru plays with plenty of speed and dexterity to catch up with the fast rhythms of the music. There are plenty of speedy fills and double bass patterns to hold rhythm for the rest of the instruments.

Production is swell on “A Darkness Descends“. It captures each instrument at their best with a crisp sound. Guitars, drums, vocals, keys and even the bass is easily distinguishable and easy to comprehend. Now, this band doesn’t bring anything new to the scene musically, but it puts India on the map. I expect to see a fresh crop of first wave Indian Metal bands to make their presence known in the ears of metallers scattered across Europe and America Although this album isn’t perfect, this is a good sign to see where the Indian Metal scene can expand onto. This album came out almost 3 years ago so hopefully in the future, Demonic Resurrection can expand beyond their influences and create their own unique sound without having too lean on a particular band. Fans of symphonic metal (PoetAndThePendulum that means you) or metal in genre should give this a run. It truly is a marvel too witness how the basic form of Metal has been constantly been redefined in numerous cultures and various countries. No one can kill the metal….

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3.6 great

Rank: #0 for 2005