UMUR
"Resting in the Pantheon" is the first demo recording by Spanish, Zaragoza based death metal act Maelstrom. The demo was independently released in December 1990. Maelstrom formed in 1990, released two demos and one split before disbanding (probably shortly after the release of their second demo "Augury of Decline" from 1992). While they aren´t widely known, a December 1990 death metal demo must mean that they were one of the earliest death metal acts on the Spanish scene. A band like Avulsed for example didn´t form until 1991.
The material on the 5 tracks, 14:53 minutes long demo is a death/thrashy and relatively technical type of death metal. Maelstrom are obviously skilled musicians and they deliver their music with both passion and conviction. They don´t really sound like any other contemporary artist, although they aren´t the most unique sounding act either. The tracks are effective, brutal, and aggressive, featuring tempo changes, blistering screaming leads, and a rabid dog aggressive vocalist in front.
The sound quality is decent considering that this is a demo, and it´s only the guitars which could have featured a better sounding distortion and have been placed higher in the mix. It´s seldom a good idea to place the bass higher in the mix than the guitars, which is the case here. When that is said "Resting in the Pantheon" is still a good quality demo release from Maelstrom and it´s definitely worth checking out if you appreciate death/thrash metal from the late 80s/early 90s. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.