Demiricous – One

Demiricous – One / 2006 Metal Blade / 12 Tracks / http://www.demiricous.com / http://www.metalblade.com / Reviewed 22 December 2005

There is a tremendous amount of press concerning Demiricous, and this is for a good reason. The tracks on “One” all contain the speed and intensity of an early Slayer or Deicide. The classic sound of the band still has connections to the current period, as Demiricous comes up with a fresh sound that will work regardless in whatever genre or time period one wishes to couch it in. All of the tracks on this album are cut down to an extremely manageable runtime, which allows the band to put the material that they need to get off their chests quickly into the track without too much in the way of lead-in or tepid introductions to the track. The music present on “One” is that type that will get pits started, heads banging and is something that does not stop at any time through the disc’s forty minutes.

The grinding style of “Beyond Obscene” is a nice change from the rest of the tracks and really pushes Demiricous into another realm entirely. With a “slower” (relative to the music that Demiricous lies down on the album, not slow to the majority of music released now) track in “Perfection and the Infection”, there are plays on this album to every single “brand” of metal. The all-together chorus present on “Cheat the Leader” even goes a little bit into the “tough guy” hardcore (at least stylistically) and continues giving listeners material that they will be interested in and will keep their interest through multiple listens. The allure of “One” is that the album goes by before individuals notice it; by the time a listener’s eyes are drawn to the status bar on the CD player, “Matador” is playing and there are only a few tracks left on that listen.

“Matador” continues the tendency of Demiricous to innovate on all of the tracks on the disc; the shrill guitar lines scream progressive metal even if the other guitars come forth in a few sludgy manner. Even when a track is two and a half minutes (as is the case with “To Service Is To Destroy”, the sheer amount of material that Demiricous puts down for their listener base is enough to mull on for ten or fifteen after the last strain ends. Pantera, Slayer, and Deicide all unite in spirit to create this new act. Demiricous hopefully will be around for a tremendous amount of time and become a mainstay of talent-laden metal.

Top Tracks: Ironsides, Hellbound

Rating: 6.9/10

[JMcQ]