UMUR
"Promo Demo" is the third demo recording by Dutch thrash/death metal act Thanatos. The demo was independently released in September 1985. It features three re-recorded tracks from the December 1984 "Speed Kills" demo and the studio version of "Progressive Destructor", which first appeared on the June 1985 "Live!" demo. According to lead vocalist/guitarist Stephan Gebédi, Thanatos ran out of tapes of the original "Speed Kills" demo, and they decided to re-record some of the tracks from the demo. Another reason was that they had become a much darker, heavier, and more brutal playing unit since they recorded the "Speed Kills" demo, so they wanted to present the material in a more raw and brutal version.
...which they certainly do, because "Promo Demo" is a very brutal demo considering that it was released in September 1985. I would still call it brutal thrash metal, but I understand if some people refer to it as black metal, blackened thrash metal, or even death metal, because the music features traits from all those genres (which weren´t really coined at this point in time) and it´s definitely a seminal extreme metal demo.
It´s all very noisy, grim, and savage sounding with relentlessly pounding drumming, distorted noisy riffs, screaming solos, and the raw snarling vocals in front. Thanatos were still a relatively immature act but it´s hard not to be impressed by their fierce aggression and also their relatively interesting songwriting ideas. This may be influenced by artists like Venom, Bathory, and Hellhammer, but they still bring something unique to the table. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.