Demo 2023

Bogside Sniper Squadron is a bit of an interesting project that came out earlier this year. Formed by Francis Kano of Devil Master, the band released their debut demo in May, which quickly gained some attention within the underground for its unique black/death metal style alongside some themes of Irish culture and war. Though these guys are just getting started, it's clear from this demo that they got some potential.

From the first track "Ash Rains at Warrenpoint", the instruments get straight to the point with the guitars blaring a melodic and catchy folk-like riff with a mix of fast and aggressive solos to accompany the heavy riffs. The drumming is also just as crazed, with a constant blastbeat blaring through the track, mixed in with some more slower and upbeat beat patterns. The bass is a bit quiet in the mix, but otherwise does a really good job flowing with the guitars and laying the foundation in the track. It's clear that these guys are influenced from Arghoslent, especially given the folk-like nature of the riffs. But this isn't just another standard Arghoslent clone either, as it's also got some heavy metal/hard rock influences from Thin Lizzy and Running Wild. This is especially the case with my personal favorite track "Corporal Executions", which starts off with some killer melodic riffs that evoke a more positive tone within the atmosphere. Even the closing track "March of the Undefeated Army" is good at ending things with a prideful and triumphant tone that truly hones in the Irish pride. While the instrumentals do have their fair share of harshness, the more melodic Thin Lizzy-like elements help balance it out.

The vocals are also just as good. The vocals mainly consist of deep growls akin to the death metal genre, but they actually flow a better with the melodic riffs than one would expect. A good example is "M82" a blend of harsh riffs with some melodic solos. The growls clearly fit well in the more harsh moments, but as for the more melodic riffs, the growls use some grunts to help contrast the melody with a jarring and barbarous personality. The vocal performance on this demo isn't significant, but its appearance does feel welcoming in the chaos of the tracks.

With only four tracks that last for just 14 minutes, it's honestly amazing with how much the band has accomplished with this debut release. The unique style of the instruments make it stand out from other recent black/death metal acts, and the vocals are just as unforgiving with their hateful growls, all with the Irish themes for the cherry on top. Considering how lame Resuscitation of the Revanchists was, I'm just gonna take this demo as the better release of this year.