DEMONIC RESURRECTION — Demonstealer (review)

DEMONIC RESURRECTION — Demonstealer album cover

Album · 2000 · Death Metal

2/5 · 2019-12-01
siLLy puPPy

DEMONIC RESURRECTION has been one of India’s main acts that has introduced the world to the Indian metal scene. The band formed in 2000 in Mumbai and has had several lineup changes over the years and started out but have become an interesting force of blackened death metal with symphonic touches. Having been influenced by the more Gothic end of the metal spectrum with bands like Theatre of Tragedy, The Gathering and Lacuna Coil as the main bands of inspiration, DEMONIC RESURRECTION started out as a group of teenagers with lead vocalist and guitarist The Demonstealer proving to be the only constant member.

Metal was a fairly new thing for India at the turn of the millennium and DEMONIC RESURRECTION quickly recorded and released this debut album DEMONSTEALER in the same year of 2000 however after its release the band quickly dissolved leaving Demonstealer, the band leader to start from scratch. This album has all but been forgotten and could be rightfully considered a demo despite an official release because of the amateurish qualities of not only performances but production and lackluster songwriting skills. In addition to Demonstealer on vocals and guitars, this early lineup consisted of Count Varathora (bass), Yash Pathak (drums) and female vocalist and keyboardist Nikita Shah.

This first release has seen four different album covers in both CD-R and cassette forms. It’s apparent from a single listen of DEMONSTEALER that this band was not even remotely ready for primetime. The compositions tend to be inspired by a mix of second wave black metal as well as the aforementioned Gothic metal acts. The rather similar sounding tracks derive the basic compositional fortitude from bands like Darkthrone, Emperor and Dimmu Borgir with heavily distorted guitar riffs and raspy vocals by Demonstealer with the beauty and beast charm of Nikita whose Gothic feminine charm is given equal billing. The guitars are rather low in the mix and the simplistic atmospheres are often more audible than the metal aspects. The drumming while getting the job done is also of an unimpressive quality with attempted blastbeats merely dishing out a steady rhythmic drive.

There’s really not much to say about this debut other than that it’s not that great. While it offers a few glimpses into the more developed sounds of the future, this debut album simply sounds like a bunch of teens awkwardly imitating its idols and not doing a very good job at it. Of course there is always a learning process involved and DEMONIC RESURRECTION was clearly in the midst of it on this earliest of recordings. It would take five more years and a new lineup for the band to really gain any traction but this is where it all started and is best avoided unless you are a rabid fan and must seek out the childish origins of this present day popular Indian metal band. Personally i don’t find any tracks stand out on this one. They are all very simplistic and sound pretty much the same.