Edge Of Sanity struck it big in the 90's with their melodic, progressive style of death metal. The band was lead by mastermind Dan Swano, a well known figure in the Swedish metal scene. Swano still has many bands and side-projects to this day and it seems like people close to him are following a similar path. One of them is a friend to Swano. His name is Rogga Johansson and it seems like he also has a couple of irons in his fire as well. Rogga; like Swano, a multi-talented musician, performs both as a vocalist and a guitarist and has stuck close to a few of Swano’s creations. He has contributed some vocal work in
Crimson II, he was the lead singer in
Pan-Thy-Monium which was also a progressive death metal band. Rogga's bands and side projects have more or less fallen into the shadow of Swano's creations.
Paganizer and
Ribspreader are two of Rogga's creations but they are also pretty unknown. This time around, Rogga has a new band and they are known as
Demiurg.
Demiurg is as death metal act with slight influences in melodic elements. The music is dark, forceful and very heavy but also has a small atmospheric vibe to it. It actually sounds like a mix between the infamous
Bloodbath and
Edge Of Sanity. Combine the bludgeoning heaviness and extremeness of
Bloodbath and the musical dynamics and melodies of
Edge Of Sanity and you can paint a clear picture of what
Demiurg are all about.
Creations subterranean awaiting the end of man
Rising from the filth to enthrone their sickened reign
The Breath Of The Demiurg became Rogga's debut album and it really packs a punch. Rogga is responsible for the vocals and guitars while the bass is handled by Johan Berglund and Dan Swano himself, bashing away on the drum kit.
The Breath Of The Demiurg does not deliver anything special to the music scene but this doesn’t make the album an un-enjoyable death metal treat. The strong influences from early
Bloodbath and the thick-as-hell guitar sound create a very rich sound of brutality, combined with small splashes of melodies to create a nice atmospheric touch to each songs. There are some great hooks throughout the album, further complimenting the textural atmospheric touches of truly memorable riffs. The main highlight really stands out is Rogga's growls. His vocal performance comes across as combination between Mikael Akerfeldt and Dan Swano. Take Akerfeldt's harshness and mix it with Dan's deeper growling style and you have Rogga's vocal style. The growls are very powerful and intimidating, and this vocal style works like a charm together with the massive guitar sound. Rogga's low-pitched shrieks are also quite powerful as heard on the songs
Monolithany and
Monolithany Pt.II where his growls actually unite perfectly with the music to create a unique feel to his brand of death metal.
On shores unwalked
Unparalleled through aeons perfecting its unknown ways
Indifference will conjure death upon the shores of Ib
Another noteworthy praise that makes
Demiurg an interesting band are the lyrics.
Demiurg does not follow the death metal trend in terms of lyrics while most death metal bands usually revolve their lyrical themes are violence and death. Touching on subjects about the apocalypse, bleak futures and the cleansing of human filth are just skimming the surface.
City Of Ib is a good example when it comes to apocalyptic themes. This city, known as Ib suddenly succumbs to these ''beings'' and the city is draped in death and destruction.
Orbiting A Dead Sun is an interesting example of a possible event that will occur to mankind. The sun begins to fade followed by the fact that humanity will most likely disappear from the earth. Another good thing about this album is that some songs have a connection to each other. The two
Monolithany tracks has a connection to each other and [i]City Of Ib[/u] has its connection to
Sarnath, which is a continuation to
City Of Ib. There is also a possibility that the two last tracks has a connection as well, at least the titles make it so, it could be like this:
The Doom That Came To… Sarnath. There might be a complex theme that runs through the album but the sci-fi lyrics are enjoyable nonetheless.
A thousand years did pass and then came doom
To sweep away the filth festering the soil
Demiurg's debut album is definitely an album that death metal enthusiasts must check out. The music contains plenty of classic death metal elements like tremolo picking patterns, beefy riffs and intense drumming. The best parts about this type of death metal though is the use of fantasy and fictional lyrics and that the music is unusually atmospheric, that take this death metal into another realm of reality.
The Breath Of The Demiurg is a must-have if you like the work of
Bloodbath or late
Edge Of Sanity.
4/5
