Day of the Lord

Upon hearing Malignant, I was blown away at how authentic it sounded to the original run of death metal bands from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Malevolent Creation came to mind, as this demo titled Day Of The Lord absolutely breathes that style left and right. Only after about three listens, I realized that this is because it is from 1990, and that this is a reissue. So low and behold, a lost gem that’s been resurrected!

Day Of The Lord is a set of three tracks that sound extremely concise and clear given the time and the format. The vocals especially have the perfect level of echo to add to an already harsh and abrasive shout. If that’s not enough, they go pretty hard in general. Opener “Sinister Expiration” clocks in past the seven minute mark, feeling like two songs in one. Things boil down to much deeper levels halfway through, and the buried synth was a nice touch. It probably goes on longer than it needs, but the entire demo run-time is short anyway.

The other two tracks “Lord Of Darkness” and the title track are less stretched in layout but just as impressive. The first of those two focuses more on superiority in drumwork, as it opens on more complex clicks. It then ricochets into blasting attacks before leading into more straightforward construction. There’s also strong bass presence, making this track reign incredibly in the rhythm department. This is pretty solid, considering the solos are really sloppy.

I’m glad that Into It Records unearthed this old gem and reissued it. No way I would have ever found it if not for them. Malignant never made it past the demo stage.

Originally written for Metal Inferno