Demigod
Slumber Of Sullen Eyes

The Demigod are a semi-unknown Finnish band, active since the early nineties and authors of one of the lowest and meanest betrayals ever occurred in the Death Metal scene; with their second album (which, as far as I know, is also their last) they indeed turned towards Gothic.

And I already know that at this point many Death enthusiasts will have read enough to move their cursor to the "Home" button at the top left, determined to move on: instead, I urge you to pause because in this review I will cover their debut dated 1992, a truly disconcerting work, dedicated to a far from wide audience.

As already specified, this album offers Death metal with some extremely heavy and dark Doom influences; therefore, alongside more sustained tempos, there are numerous slowdowns, never too prolonged or monolithic. If I had to mention reference bands, I could not help but recall the American Immolation and Incantation, but considering that "Slumber Of Sullen Eyes", just like the debuts of the aforementioned bands, dates back to the early nineties, I do not feel confident in talking about real "influences." In fact, wanting to exaggerate, I could say that Demigod themselves influenced other bands, and in particular, I am referring to the whole lineage of Eastern European Death (Trauma, Decapitated, Mutilation etc.): this progeny, born in the second half of the last decade, combines the immediacy of Thrash with the violence of Death and seals it all with "almost melodic" openings that Demigod demonstrate having intuited long before. Other noticeable influences are those of the early Floridian Death (especially early Deicide and early Morbid Angel), but it can be said that the cues taken from these two groups represent the least successful episodes of the album.

The best pieces are the most personal ones, where all the malevolent sadness of which this quintet is capable best emerges. Despite this being their first release, "Slumber Of Sullen Eyes" presents us with an already mature band, capable of writing extremely structured songs rich in tempo changes. The technical level is mid to high, quite similar to that of the aforementioned bands: you will hear good drumming, precise but not very original, and two guitarists who perform good riffs and good solos. The vocalist proves equal to his companions and boasts a quite deep growling. As always, the bass remains almost inaudible, so I cannot express a judgment. Instead, I can express one on the production, typical of the works of that period, that is, very filtered and claustrophobic but not so much as to make the sounds mushy: in short, a production suitable for this work. Entered into the context and well blended with the rest are very brief arrangements performed on keyboards, a very intelligent and discreet use of this instrument (at least in a genre like this): I don't want to be misunderstood, this album has very little melody and the rare passages played with keyboards only function to serve the mood, the real ace up the sleeve of the Finns.

Rarely have I heard a work so negative and emotionally violent, gloomy and annihilating: every single note, every single passage, devours a piece of light until it leaves the more or less consenting listener in total darkness. While there are only a few bands that have been able to father such atmospheres (Suffocation, Skinless), certainly no one has been able to express them so directly; the sound of this LP presents itself in its unequivocal meaning, with no need for further deciphering and without lending itself to subjective interpretations. Death, nihilism, and then more death is what is breathed from the first to the last second of this record. Having said that, it would be pointless to add that even the most hardcore Death metallers might find this work truly unsettling. "Slumber Of Sullen Eyes," in fact, presents itself as a work with a difficult approach, enjoyable only by lovers of a sound belonging to a past generation or by lovers of more distressing sounds.

In short, a delicacy for veteran metalheads or for the crazy ones, lacking a follow-up that on one hand renews its negative charge and on the other contaminates its pure darkness.