TESTAMENT — Demonic (review)

Album · 1997 · Thrash Metal

3.5/5 · 2021-10-08
UMUR

"Demonic" is the 7th full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Testament. The album was released through Burnt Offerings in June 1997. It´s the successor to "Low" from 1994. The album was recorded as a four-piece. The usual suspects and the only remaining founding members are Chuck Billy on vocals and Eric Peterson on guitars while Gene Hoglan on drums and Derrick Ramirez on bass are new in the lineup (replacing Chris Kontos and Greg Christian respectively). Gene Hoglan had just finished his stint with Death and was about to start his time with Strapping Young Lad and was asked to help out, while bassist Derrick Ramirez played guitar in The Legacy which was the band that later changed their name to Testament (by then Derrick Ramirez was no longer a member), so there is some credibility to the lineup.

Compared to the groove oriented and melodic thrash metal style of "Low (1994)", the music on Demonic is generally quite different in style and sound. The departure of lead guitarist James Murphy had a big impact on how Testament approached the songwriting for "Demonic". This was arguably the most raw and heavy release by Testament up until that point (and probably still is), who on occassion even venture into death metal territory. Chuck Billy spice up his trademark vocal delivery with some semi-death grunts and the riffing could at times also be mistaken for death metal riffing albeit of the thrashier kind. When that is said "Demonic" is still a thrash metal album and Testament are still Testament. There is also a good portion of groove featured on the album, and at times I´m reminded of an artist like Lamb of God. If anything the inspiration flowed the other way, so it´s just a reference made to describe the style of music on "Demonic".

"Demonic" features a powerful, raw, and heavy sounding production, which suits the rawness and heavy nature of the material perfectly. Hoglan always deserves praise for his outstanding drumming skills and playing style and this time is no exception. Anything that man plays on is instantly made better by his contributions. Peterson is rock solid delivering loads and loads of heavy thrashy riffs and while Billy´s semi-growling vocal style isn´t always pretty and his more regular raw shouting vocal parts are a nice variation from the grunting, the vocals overall work pretty well too. As there aren´t many guitar solos to be found ("Jun-Jun" is one of the few tracks featuring prominent lead guitar work), "Demonic" is quite different from the albums preceding it, as guitar solos and lead guitar themes were always a major part of Testament´s sound. Just not on this album...

...so upon conclusion "Demonic" is one of the odd one out albums in the band´s discography, but that doesn´t mean it´s a bad quality release by any means. In fact it´s a strong groove oriented thrash metal release, featuring high level musicianship, a well sounding production job, and relatively memorable songwriting. I do miss the lead guitars, and sometimes it does feel like Testament sacrifice memorability and melody over brutality, but overall it´s a quality release. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.