UMUR
"Human Relic" is the first demo release by Swedish death metal act Gorement. It was recorded in Gorysound Studios with Dan Swanö and released by the band themselves in April 1991 in a limited quantity of 300 copies. The four tracks from the 12:01 minutes long demo are also featured on the two compilation albums "Darkness of the Dead (2004)" and "Within the Shadow of Darkness - The Complete Recordings (2012)".
The music on the demo is raw, simple and brutal old school Swedish death metal. It´s played with great conviction and considering the fact that "Human Relic" is a demo recording the sound production sounds nearly professional. It´s interesting to note that two of the tracks from the demo made their way unto the band´s debut full-length studio album "The Ending Quest (1994)" in re-recorded versions. They sound rather different here though, which is especially due to the growling vocals, which on the demo are unintelligible and quite distorted as opposed to the brutal yet slightly intelligible growling vocals on the debut album.
Overall "Human Relic" is a promising first release by Gorement and while it doesn´t really break any new ground, fans of old school Swedish death metal should be able to find a lot to like here. A 3 star (60%) rating is deserved.