Disciples of the Ultimate Void

I have no problem calling Deathspell Omega one of my favourite black metal bands ever, if not one of my favourites of any style. Over the course of the past decade, they have made some incredibly bone-chilling music, relying heavily on none other than Satan himself for lyrical inspiration. What has set this band apart though is their ability to really innovate their sound, and incorporate aspects of jaw-dropping technicality into a genre that generally lacks much in the way of playing proficiency. In any case, they have released some of my favourite albums, and though I respect them to the utmost, I cannot find much to appreciate in their early demo, entitled 'Disciples Of The Ultimate Void'. First hearing it tacked onto their debut album 'Infernal Battles', this is a poorly produced, generic black metal demo that sadly does not impress me in any way, let alone to the extent that their opuses do.

There really is not much to say about the demo, save for the fact that it shows these Frenchmen paying homage to bands like Mayhem, who perfected this old school style of black metal about a decade prior. The songwriting is bland and predictable, although the musicianship of the band is quite impressive, even at this point. It is clear that this band is a cut above others in the sense that this band can really play their instruments well. Sadly, they are using their talents to pull off music that has been done much better before. Even after a few listens, nothing sticks on the demo. There are some nicely played riffs, but even they are made senseless by the sewage-calibre production that would typically be entailed with a demo. There is little to enjoy here, and it would be until the band's second album where they would start making some good black metal.