UMUR
"Praised by Generations" is a demo release by Polish death metal act Deivos. The demo (which is sometimes referred to as an EP) was released through Broken Mind Records in February 1999. It´s the band´s first release and there wouldn´t be another until 2003 when Deivos released the "Hostile Blood" EP. Deivos were formed in 1997 as a three-piece and the same three-piece lineup are responsible for recording "Praised by Generations". The band didn´t have a drummer at the time of recording the material, so the drums on the release are programmed by guitarists Tomasz Kolcon and Maciej Nawrocki, who also handle the bass playing on the demo. Lead vocalist Marcin Gorniak completes the trio lineup.
The music style on the 5 track, 17:01 minutes long demo is brutal death metal. It´s technically well played, brutal, and powerful music, and Deivos are obviously aware of how to write a good effectful death metal tune. It´s not that the music on the demo stand out on the death metal scene or that Deivos have a particularly distinct sound, but the compositions are damn solid. The sound production drags the demo down a bit, as it´s clearly not a professional recording, but as far as demos go, the sound is decent enough. The programmed drums are tolerable too, but when they sound most "artificial" (there is something about the hi-hat sound, which rubs me wrong), it´s audible that a human drummer would have made the listening experience a more interesting one.
As far as doing what a demo is suppossed to do, which is introduce an artist´s music to labels and music reviewers, I´d say "Praised by Generations" does a pretty great job. The demo is consistent in style and quality, and although not everything about the demo is high quality, it´s still obvious that Deivos are an act worth investigating further. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.