Review: Demonsmoke “Three Song Demo”

    Sometimes you just want to hear a heavy riff that comes crashing down like a vengeful giant stepping upon a small village. That thunderous doom sound is hard to beat, and if you can present the music in a strong and compelling manner, you will get those Sabbath worshipping fanatics interested in a heartbeat.

    Antioch California’s Demonsmoke is an up and coming doom band who I was able to see live in Petaluma, CA before hearing any of their recordings. Compared to the other bands who played that night, Demonsmoke was without question the most solid sounding act. Their sound reminded me of Sleep, but also had the viciousness of Church of Misery and Eyehategod. When the band put out free demos I made sure to grab one right away.

    To begin, I want to point out how the audio quality for this demo is very impressive. Some demos I have heard tend to be really generic sounding and seem to cast a poor light on those bands' songwriting abilities. Wherever Demonsmoke recorded this demo, the sound quality does not diminish the band’s heaviness and songwriting skills. The opening track, “Morphine Moonshine,” begins with a crack of sharp guitar feedback and then cuts into a buzz saw sounding distorted riff. The drums and bass guitar come pounding into the picture with the vocalist screaming right behind. Slowly, Demonsmoke builds up an enormous structure of doom and aggressive musical expression.

    The next song on the demo, “Sever,” is a shorter track and the tone comes across a bit more fierce. I think the band’s delivery is solid, but I would like to hear them expanded on the track or add some extra guitar leads to give the song a dynamic twist. I will say that the singer effectively used his aggressive vocal style which gives the song a sinister edge. The final song, “Creeping Down Your Neck,” hits even harder and contains these seismic earth tearing instrumental parts. Again, I think the demo quality really allows me to hear what this band has to offer and where they might be able to take their music.

    Being a fan of doom metal, or Sabbath worship as some might call it, I believe Demonsmoke is a group to keep an eye on . If you want to hear some heavy reverb head crushing riffs, dark grooving doom rhythms and harsh demon like vocals...here is a new band to check out people!

Demonsmoke Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/demonsmokeband?fref=ts