It’s always a tricky question as to whether to review demos, doubly so when it’s currently Bandcamp only. Triple when it’s a first output. I mean they are demos; demonstrations not finished articles. However I’d been keeping an eye open for this lot as they are a UKBM band formed by Nina ‘The Cuntess’ Piccirillo, singer of Eastern Front and Daemona (r.i.p) so rules be damned. Sometimes they deserve it. Joined by Uriel (guitars), Kanopa (drums) and Lorgar (bass) we have three tracks recorded and mixed by Mike Hardisty and Dan Mullins so, you see, these people mean business and it is a superb sound here; rich deep and full.
‘The Blood Countess’ starts with a clatter of Kanopa’s driving drums and a just pitch black riff, the kind that pulls you down and envelops you. The Cuntess steps up and if you have never caught her voice before it is deep, expressive and at times frankly terrifying. All present, it comes together as a real beast; proper full on ferocious, dense black metal tearing skin and spitting blood. And then the tempo change kicks in and a rich melody pushes through and I kinda just sit there grinning. Ok excellent start. ‘Goddess Of Pain’ is even better; a hook riddled guitar refrain seeps into a punky mid pace riff and The Cuntess really sounds like she’s lost every scrap of patience with the world. It rumbles, that bass heavy sound just spot on and the drumming the solid rock keeping it focussed. Yeah I got chills to this one. ‘Sadistic Misandry’ finishes it off in style. Again they have the rich, deep sound heavy on Lorgar’s bass and sharp in the guitar, with seamless tempo changes that drive Uriel’s hooks in deeper. It’s malevolent, dark and full of atmosphere.
Save the best ’til last and leave them wanting more, eh?
Yep it’s a demo, so there’s things to be touched up here and there but not only is the recording great here, the songwriting has its own personality already and the potential just…ah.. That’s why I wanted to review this. Potential. Huge. A great addition to the UKBM scene which for my money is in superb shape already.
Name your price on Bandcamp so you really have no excuse.
Scoring is tricky as it is a demo and let’s not get carried away Giz. So..
(8/10 Gizmo)
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