UMUR
"Demonomancy" is the third demo recording by Finnish black/death metal act Beherit. The demo was independently released in June 1990. It´s the third demo released by Beherit in 1990 and the band moved quickly in terms of development of their sound and their skills.
If the first two demos were raw, primitive, and aggressive early takes on black/death metal, "Demonomancy" shows a slightly more mature and also more varied sound. To my ears Beherit add a few more heavy and brutal death metal elements and "Demonomancy" is more a blackened death metal demo than a black/death metal demo like the previous releases. Other than a few heavier and more brutal parts, the material on "Demonomancy" is still predominantly fast-paced, blasting, and aggressive snarling black metal, but as mentioned with a death metal influence, which can also be heard in the way the vocals are performed. They are somewhere in the territory between black metal snarling and death metal growling.
Considering that this is a June 1990 release, it´s quite extreme and the rather lo-fi, murky, and chaotic sounding production values further enhance the feeling that you´re listening to something which is a bit out of control...but that´s not really true, because if you listen a little closer it´s obvious that Beherit are a very well playing band, and although parts of the music may sound chaotic, that´s pretty surely the plan. This is meant to sound grim, nasty, and chaotic...
Upon conclusion this is a good quality early black/death metal demo from Beherit and certainly worth a listen by both black metal and death metal fans. When listening to "Demonomancy" it´s obvious why Beherit are considered a seminal black/death metal act from Finland. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.