Demontage - "The Principal Extinction" (Can)

A big aspect of modern black metal that I find to be lacking is the "metal" half of the genre's title. The Norweigan bands in the early 1990s largely detatched themselves from the riff-based metal aspect to the genre; "Transilvanian Hunger" and "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss" are both extremely minimalistic releases that bear almost no resemblance to more riff-based foundational acts like Venom or Bathory. For whatever reason, most likely the notoriety gained through non-musical acts, the Norweigan sound became more or less the dominant force in black metal, of which its influence is still heavily felt. While I certainly like the original bands from the early 90s, there are far fewer things more tedious than a generic black metal record. More often than not, this means a random grouping together of various elements of Norweigan black metal. As such, its always a breath of fresh air to hear a band which doesn't fall into that mold and does their own thing.

As far as black metal bands go, Demontage is about as "metal" as you can get. Its almost a misnomer to call them "black metal", as their sound bears the most resemblance to pre-Bathory 'occult metal' bands like Mercyful Fate or Cirith Ungol. However, the similarities to these bands largely ends with the atmosphere conveyed, as musically they are be all over the map. "The Principal Extinction" is band's second full length, and easily the best material they have recorded to date. The "Madness Disease" demo (2004) was good, but the performances were a little shaky and the songwriting largely unfocused. "Sacrilege 'n Miscreancy", following in 2006, was a huge improvement, and tightened up a lot of areas in "Madness Disease" which needed work. "The Principal Extinction", released in January 2010 on Shadow Kingdom Records follows up on that trend again, and here the band delivers a truly great album.

Demontage's scope is quite epic here; track times range from 5:50 to 9:56, and largely fall on the longer side. The songs are far from repetitive, however and showcase excellent songwriting. Song structures build up on top of themselves, and guitar riffs flow into each other effortlessly. Much like the lengthier tracks of Poison's "Into the Abyss", Demontage has an excellent sense of composition and flow, and these tracks never get boring. The riffs themselves are quite unique, and Spilomantis' style reminds me a bit of Temis Osmond from Sabbat. Both players are able to lead the music in a confident style that, while at times is intricate, is never flashy or wanky. In addition to this, the phrasing of the riffs is rather long, so it never feels that too much is being crammed in at once. The songs tend to vary a lot in tempo, and the band is able to handle the slower, more atmospheric sections just as well as they can handle the more intense and faster tempos.

The band's performance is excellent all around. While the song structures themselves are complex at times, the band has a very loose feel to their sound. In particular the drummer often differentiates from a straight forward blasting style, and plays like the more looser drumming that could be found on a heavy 70s album. Touches of keyboards and vocal effects are implemented at times, but are used sparingly, and never feel out of place or goofy. Vocals are delivered in a great over the top style that reminds me of a dirtier Nasty Savage; a majority of the vocals are delivered in a semi-clean mid-pitched register, but will just as often go into a glorious high pitched wail. The vocal delivery is much more confident here than on previous recordings, and greatly works to the band's advantage. Productionwise, this album is good, though at the bass can be a little buried at times. The guitars and drums, however, have plenty of room to breathe and play off each other, and the band sounds very raw and alive. The guitar tone has a strange tone which took me a little while to get used to, but ultimately I feel it works well with the band's sound.

Both the natural energy and the over the top vocal delivery make this a very fun listen, but at the time same is able to successfully capture the darker and more occult feel that defines the first wave black metal sound. In a sense, the atmosphere is really the biggest thing Demontage has in common with the genre; the band doesn't really sound like any one band, nor are they clearly derived from a particular source. Unlike clone, old-school or retro bands, Demontage takes a first wave black metal approach to their music, but are able to incorporate their influences into something that legitimately sounds new and fresh. Fortunately it sounds nothing like any modern black metal I've heard, and manages to avoid all the pitfalls of overproduction, Darkthrone cloning, tedious clicky drums and lifeless blast beats. As a result, this will immediately turn off a great deal of listeners, and would be a treat for any fans that appreciate black metal's core elements (not to be confused with mallcore elements). A great deal of humor comes through in the wordy lyrics, and the band's performance indicate that they are having just as much fun playing as the listener is following along.

As it is a recent release, "The Principal Extinction" can still be easily obtained directly from Shadow Kingdom Records. Currently it is only out on CD, but this is a fantastic album that deserves more than to be constricted by a 5" diameter and reflective surfaces. Regardless of format repressings, Shadow Kingdom Records has a bigger distribution channel than Unsung Heroes Records (the label which released "Sacrilege 'n Miscreancy"), so hopefully this will be able to provide the band with more deserved exposure. I can't wait to see how the band will follow this one up; they are one of the best active bands now, and I can't think of a better way to start 2010 off on a high note.