Partnering with Dawnbreed Records, savage Canadian death metal maniacs, Hedonist, shall be releasing their sadistic debut demo, “Sepulchral Lacerations,” on CD format through the label. The band’s debut demo is without question a blistering release that dives deep into the abhorrent sounding abyss of soul-crushing old school death metal.
I think what impressed me right away about this band was their ability to deliver an utterly merciless sounding demo. The band’s sound perfectly captures the pure destructive essence similar to that of bands like Bolt Thrower, Master, Morbid Angel and Benediction. There is no nonsense when listening to their songs and the band does a great job steering away from the traps which can make some modern death metal bands end up sounding like a flaming pile of sloppy dog shit. From the monstrous guitar riffs to the purely hellacious sounding vocals, this demo is all about handing out a brutal beatdown of old school torment.
The demo features six gruesome offerings of fiendish sounding death metal that violently hammer out some sickening riffs. For example the opening track, “Intrepid Repulsion,” is a profoundly adrenaline pumping assault upon the ears. The band plays with such raw and fearsome focus, while also creating this thunderous sounding landscape which heightens the band’s brutal creative vision. Also, I really liked the drum parts throughout the song and thought that the recording of the drums was extremely well executed. The band’s drummer provides a truly monumental rhythmic attack from behind the kit and really serves as the solid foundation on each of the demo’s deafening tracks. Songs such as, “Lunar Bathysphere” and “Cephalic Rot,” contain these cataclysmic like sounding compositions that vividly stand out in large part due to the bludgeoning drum and guitar parts.
Overall, this release is a purely sinister creation that was recorded with a strong old school death metal mindset. The last two tracks, “Parodic War” and “Fatidic Dread (Thanatophobic Ritual),” do a tremendous job fueling the inhumane musical onslaught moving forward until the very end. Probably my favorite song off of the demo was, "Fatidic Dread (Thanatophobic Ritual),” which once again displays some pulverizing drum work, as well as some scorching lead guitar parts. Plus, I liked how the band ended the track by coming up with this very haunting sounding guitar riff that fades out and after it comes a brief sound bite from the movie Blade Runner to end the demo.
If you are fan of old school death metal and unapologetic extreme music, then I highly recommend checking out Hedonist and giving this demo a listen. Although some critics might say that the extreme metal world is becoming saturated with bands playing “old school death metal worship,” I always enjoy discovering bands that demonstrate those solid old school death metal songwriting qualities, and are also willing to put in that extra brutal effort into each recording. For a demo, I'd have to say that this release was very impressive and is a great first introduction. I cannot wait to hear what the band can come up with on future recordings, because the amount of sheer brutal energy was down right astonishing!
Check out the full demo below :
Hedonist Bandcamp:
https://hedonistdeathmetal.com/releases
Dawnbreed Records:
Great review Robby.
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