Stormblade

Another thrilling effort from my fellow countrymen, this is a stunning release from Demoniac which is sure to end up on your ‘most played’ list in your media player. Right from the start the perfect blending of power and black metal evidenced in ‘Burn the Witch’ will rock you, with creative little guitar licks and thunderous drumming, matched with strong, Sigh-esque vocals, that I feel are mixed really well.

Overall, a brilliant sound is created on this 1996 album. Sweet black metal riffs are heard throughout, and don’t sound too ‘run of the mill’. My favourite track is Red Light, an astonishing effort, which goes down a treat when skating the city streets, blaring out of the headphones, in the dead of night. Well, that’s just me. It’s a track with emotional riffs, and an excellent chorus, and double tracks of vocals in the verses. Watch for the energetic built up of triumphant guitars in the pre-chorus section, coupled with sweet black metal vocals. There’s a shredding guitar solo too.

Other strong points include ‘Into the Cavern Light’, ‘Hatred is Purity’ aw, who am I kidding-the whole album is strong. A triumphant, emotive blending of power and black metal, and an all-round strong metal album. I would recommend it to anyone. While I am fond of their other releases, I would have no problem recommending this scorcher to anyone new to the band. I can’t believe this band came out of NZ!