I actually enjoyed JFAC’s “Ruination” album from 2009, reviewed during the sites previous incarnation Metal Team UK. Whenever I say that I like JFAC I am usually laughed at which does astound me and whilst their live performances aren’t exactly scintillating on the whole, the band does write decent technical death metal songs, and not the deathcore stuff the band is consummately plagued as playing. With that all being said I’m also not going to say that JFAC should be grabbed by every death metal fan on the planet as the best thing ever in technical death metal, as whilst the band offers plenty of technical virtuosity on their albums they more than often lack actual songs to get your teeth into, leaving the listener thinking what the hell was that, and which tune did I like best, the answer to the latter being probably no idea such is their overall similarity. “Demonocracy” is no different to “Ruination” on this score as the nine tracks thunder by with little respite or opportunity to take stock of what you’re listening to.
“Children Of Deceit” batters from the start with hyper tech blasting and short stabbing frenetic riff assaults. The drop in pace is welcomed and injects a bit of tune before returning to all out blasting wrath. When I was listening to this album I was thinking of reference points as I always do, without just saying the usual Despised Icon, Whitechapel, etc I listened very carefully to the riffs and leads and ignored the speed of the drumming that infests tech death metal. My conclusion was that I was listening to Death’s mid era material played faster than the speed of light. Now my reference point may raise a few eyebrows but if you listen purely to the riffs and solos, the time changes, it is Death. I won’t convince everyone but it’s just my take. With all this in mind JFAC don’t know the meaning of slow as “Imperium Wolves” is frantic, as is the typical dual vocal style in this genre. There is little doubt that JFAC has as much proficiency as tech outfits such as Necrophagist, Obscura and Gorod but whether their tunes are any better is down to individual preference. Personally I did like “The Manipulation Stream” only because it has a more typical death metal structure and is easier to digest before its back to bedlam and insanity on “The Deity Misconceived”.
I have to admit to being a tad disappointed with “Demonocracy” as I was expecting more after I enjoyed “Ruination”. Maybe I set my standards far too close to straight death metal or my appetite for technical death metal waned completely after years of hyper tech noise. Whatever it is there is no denying that JFAC are intense, skilled and driven to write complex brutal death songs.
6/10 (Martin Harris)
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