Demoniac Pride

Rudolf the Proud, lone wolf of Sovereign, goes wilder than ever before on Demoniac Pride. Melodies are toned down in this one because it is an absolutely ripping fury. The wild guitar work gets even crazier on this album, too! This sounds as if a black-and-white werewolf drawn by Chris Moyen leapt above a southern graveyard and reached into the sky to tear down a moon made of Bathory's The Return on LP. Totally fucking insane!

There are two versions of this album. Both contain the core nine tracks. The tape version is a hotter dub - it is louder and more compressed. The LP has a bit more fizz and headroom. The LP version also includes an extra four tracks, which are rougher than the rest.

Demoniac Pride is the band's most Bathory-esque output, showing a lot is learned from The Return and Under the Sign of the Black Mark. The album oozes those influences in the best way - untamed ferocity in the demonic sounds. While the Bathory influence is as apparent in Sovereign as any other black metal band, not only is the influence stronger than ever here, but the spirit is alive and embodied on this album. It is more unhinged though, as evil Brazilian metal tends to be. The untamed, unbridled feeling of Holocausto's debut is channeled here. The intensity and disregard of society presented on Sarcofago's I.N.R.I. is necromanced by this maniac.

The fruit of these intense efforts are Rudolf the Proud's signature guitar leads getting more insane than ever. They completely take over a song and they don't let go. These aren't a break in a song, they are an escalation which every band who ever riffed wishes they could attain. They tear up songs so hard they need to end soon after.

"Howls of Death" is the heaviest Sovereign song. A lurching and percussive riff crawls and pummels from the start, unlike anything the band has ever done. Perhaps the loudness of this recording possessed him to attempt something so hard and punchy. It recalls Bathory's "Massacre" quite strongly - I suppose the influence is obvious. This moment of heaviness is another dimension of the furious nature of the album.

Demoniac Pride is ridiculously intense and very effective at worshipping Bathory with crazier guitar leads. It is deservingly proud and demonic.