Review Summary: "We didn't know what was there, but we knew something was there."
There are musical occasions in which the qualities that some people would hate about a record are what other people like or love about it. Remember Ulver's infamous black metal record Nattens Madrigal? To some, it was unlistenable dreck because of its sound quality and perceived repetition, and yet others found those very qualities mesmerizing and incredibly interesting to listen to. Well, the same thing could be said for the first demo by up-and-coming hardcore/emoviolence/metalcore act Dry Satire, comprised of fellow Sputnikmusic users Jacob Scheppler, William Crawford, and Alex Cunningham. The demo will definitely end up being polarizing to listeners (whether into hardcore/metalcore or not) because of its production quality and extremely raw overall sound and vibe. However, there's just enough here for me to recommend it.
Curiously, only two out of the four songs are consistently loud and intense, the first song primarily being an intro from the drummer of Jerome's Dream in an interview style and the last song being a solely guitar-based experiment. The two songs that are sandwiched in the middle are face-meltingly distorted and brutal, sacrificing complexity and melody to deliver a proverbial swift kick to the nuts. The lyrics are usually pretty inaudible because of the muddled quality of the screamed vocals, but it's not a heavy loss given the audible passion of said screaming and how the music picks up the slack. Thing is, if you like your music clean and polished, this will do nothing for you. That is, except for the final track, that "guitar-based experiment" that was mentioned. Presented in a much cleaner fashion than the rest of the experience, "Squestered" is a somber number filled with variations on notes from the D-minor scale. The lack of drumming and the hollower guitar tone really end up setting a uniquely lonely and "murky" vibe that sets it apart from the other songs. The biggest issue with the demo is that one of the eight minutes is spent with that aforementioned introductory commentary and while it's nice to at least have an intro, it would have been nice to have the rest of the song (the actual music segment) play out a little bit longer. Nonetheless, Dry Satire's demo is quite an entertaining and intense experience. It does sound a bit embryonic by this point (particularly because of the production quality and obviously the lack of songs) but it's just a demo; there's plenty of room for the trio to keep improving and expanding upon this glorious rawness. For being such a short musical trip, this is a really promising experience. Just be warned: it's incredibly noisy (for the most part) and not for the faint of heart.
