2014 Demo

When Pathos Productions reached out Afterbirth’s guitarist Cody Drasser back in 2012 in order to re-issue the band’s demos from the mid-1990s, the band went on board all over again and decided to reactivate what was hibernated since 1995. The result of it is Afterbirth’s self-released demo that was launched during 2014.

Soon in the first track, “Cirque Sombre Noir”, the band applies a bunch of diverse guitar riffs that go from full-bodied ones to something more technical without leaving apart the slow and heavy passages recalling Cannibal Corpse – something that’s also heard in the last track, “Maggots In Her Smile”. The band’s technical side is spread over the demo and it’s sometimes supported by a sonic drumming work delivered by the precise blast beats around the snare and the rim cymbal. The bass guitar is an instrument that’s quite audible and it even emerges by itself in a spontaneous and brief passage in “Vomit on Humanity”. Also in “Spiritually Transmitted Disease”, the bass lines are an essential part of the song in which it accompanies the rhythm of drums or follows the technical guitar. In spite of being labeled as death metal, we can find some progressive touches due to the constant changing of rhythm and riffs. Matt Duncan – who is no longer part of Afterbirth – delivers vocals that are purely inspired by the grindcore method with muffled growls comprising barely perceptible words.

In the end, we may have the idea that four songs which hardly exceed the four minutes running time are not enough to show the power that these veterans can execute. However, it can be possible that this comeback might be a new era for the band’s career that was interrupted for so many years and that this demo is not just an isolated shot.

Originally written at www.againstmagazine.com