Demo MMXII

Now that's more like it. The first demo from El-Ahrairah I checked out was Rotted Roots, a mess of a recording which tried to do way too much too soon. The raw, shitty sound just didn't adapt well to the post/Cascadian/doomy ect black metal that relies heavily on expansive elements. Demo MMXII is still quite raw, mind you. However, it puts this rawness into something that is much more suited to this lo-fi sound. In essence, this sounds like a fucking tornado. Blistering currents of grainy tremolo whizzes by in a frenzies backed up by ever-present blasting, evoking the essence of this natural disaster.

The first three songs careen by in a flash, all being under the five minute mark (even if one is only by a second). The tremolo is fast, grainy as all hell and ends up violently blending together. The rawness of the production is essential for creating the tornado effect, allowing the riffs the power they need to hit this hard. The drumming is more or less an ceaseless blast. It's not a particularly good one and the tone is a a bit muffled, but they're competent and their relentless nature adds to the violent destructive nature of the music. There are undercurrents of melody, providing some interesting contrast.

The only real outlier is twelve minute closer "Clocks Craft of Dead Stone". This sounds like the destruction left in the wake of the tornado rather than the tornado itself. It's a slow burner, and the only song where the black metal clamor drops out entirely. In the mid-section, there's a really cool section where lingering guitar becomes the main draw. It picks back up again in a more mid-paced but still decidedly raw black metal section.

Overall, I have to say this is pretty cool. The drums didn't sound particularly great, but I have to say this time around the overall package worked great with the lo-fi sound. The first three songs blend together in a tornado-like force of destruction and the last lets the aftermath of the destruction set in. A really interesting demo, and one well worth checking out for black metal fans who don't mind things raw and a tad weird.