Demolition Hammer
Necrology

The Demolition Hammer, a band from New York that originated in 1986 under the name Overlord, changed their name in 1987, released their first demo entitled Skull Fracturing Nightmare in 1988, and are preparing to release a second demo, titled Necrology in 1989.

Some preliminary observations. Following the first demo, there have been some lineup changes: in 1988, the departure of drummer John Salerno led to the replacement with Vincent Civitano, who is superior to the former in aggressiveness and skill on the instrument. In the following year, the trio became a quartet with the addition of a second guitarist, Derek Sykes. One might argue that this lineup change led to the noticeable modifications in their musical style, although not so radical. We actually believe the opposite: traditionally—in a higher sense—the preordination of elements in the suprasensible is manifested in the sensible, not the opposite; thus, we are aware that it was the will to search—more or less "consciously"—for a different sound orientation that then manifested in the sensible domain through lineup changes, not the reverse.

But it's time to say something about the Demolition Hammer demo. First of all, it should be noted that the essential element characterizing the group has remained the same, namely thrash metal, which already in the previous work was the dominant component of their musical offering. Certain influences from speed metal and first-wave black metal have been removed; even the constituent of hardcore punk has been trimmed to the minimum—although this genre can variably have some influence on thrash metal—remaining mostly confined to what, using a specialist jargon, are the so-called gang vocals.
As for the aforementioned modifications, they mainly concern the direction that the quartet has now settled on: brutal and violent thrash metal, with clear leanings towards death metal, so much so that the term thrash/death metal should not be considered incorrect, even more pronounced in their subsequent work, the album Tortured Existence.

Compared to the first demo, this work undoubtedly presents a streamlining—albeit partial—of the sound, here less gloomy and dark: the counterpart is the increased speed (the first three tracks, Crippling Velocity, Infectious Hospital Waste, and .44 Caliber Brain Surgery, are irrefutable proof of this), both in terms of the guitars and the drums—it's already been emphasized the superior aggressiveness and skill from Civitano—expressed in drier snare sounds, a more intense use of double bass drumming (Crippling Velocity, .44 Caliber Brain Surgery, Mercenary Aggression, Hydrophobia), and broader use—as previously anticipated—of the tupa tupa (once again the first three songs as examples), even faster compared to what can be heard on Skull Fracturing Nightmare and, notably, the proposition of irregular time signatures (Hydrophobia) not so common in thrash metal listening.
The guitars, now in tandem, partially relieved of sonic heaviness, manifest as carriers of greater abrasiveness on one side, and on the other as weavers of violent solos and refined musical architectures: the central portions of the first three songs stand as a clear example of the foundations of these sonic refinements, never descending into Byzantine or baroque tendencies. Not enough yet. The second half of the demo showcases what has been said even more clearly: tracks like Neanderthal, Mercenary Aggression, and Hydrophobia present these traits even more distinctly, especially if one pays attention to the rhythm changes, sudden yet consistently organic (Neanderthal, Mercenary Aggression) and the use of irregular time signatures previously mentioned (Hydrophobia). One could say, without fear of making any mistake, that the Demolition Hammer have grasped the subtleties of bands like the more technical Dark Angel and early Voivod, wisely applying them to an aggressive style, while carefully avoiding becoming pompously redundant.
Minor differences with the previous demo are noted regarding Steve Reynolds' vocals, which remain equally sharp, aggressive, and growling; the bass, played by Reynolds himself, is clearly audible, energetic, and vigorous: consequently, no particular changes are noted compared to the previous demo, except these elements, adding to the aforementioned characteristics, provide an additional enhancement to the group's overall artistic offering.

Having now considered the musical component, let's address the lyrical aspect, which we had the opportunity to comment on in the review of the first demo; this time we will not conduct the same excursus on the thematic distribution: we will immediately get to what is necessary to say here. In the textual domain, the horror-tanatological aspect previously discussed is resumed, albeit briefly: suffice it to note here that the social critique, present only in the first track of the previous release, seems to have disappeared, except for some insights in Mercenary Aggression, which can be attributed more to personal opinion than a true objective observation.
Instead, some verses from the song Neanderthal call for more than one reservation, if not outright dissent. This is not the place for a lengthy discussion to illuminate specific aspects of a serious racial doctrine: it suffices to highlight how the lyrics, adhering strictly to scientism, display more than one anti-traditional error. It is, in fact, not possible, in light of a serious understanding of uroboric cyclicity, to speak of "progressive evolution" as a key factor in determining the so-called Neanderthal man; likewise, referring to Cro-Magnon man as a "higher form of life" is quite inadequate. Traditionally, it should be understood how the Cro-Magnon racial type does not belong to the Aryans of the Hyperborean home: these are lapses into Darwinism, into the whims of naturalistic progressivism, which result in nothing but serious errors.
The rest of the lyrics, as previously illustrated, are not particularly different from what can be found in the first demo—namely the detachment, sometimes demiurgic/divine, sometimes bordering on disdainful sadism—which we nonetheless find commendable: the text of .44 Caliber Brain Surgery is unique, depicting the torments and anxieties of an individual obsessed with filth and bacteriological and/or viral organisms who decides to end his life by suicide. The theme of death reappears and, even though the narrative is done in the first person, it again conveys a sense of distance, of aristocratic detachment, which pleases us; after all, the lyrical apparatus—aside from certain inferior, earthly, and sub-personal aspects, found, for instance, in certain "social critique" claims of the previous demo—is one of the Demolition Hammer's strengths, which we consider significant, given the neglect shown by the majority of groups regarding lyrical composition.

Now onto the judgment: given the musical offering from the New Yorkers, excellent in expressing themselves with personality, well aware of the limits imposed by the genres into which metal is divided, capable of combining deadly violence with more articulated structures, staying away from bombastic hyperbolic schemes—which would only appear as degenerations—despite being aware of the lyrical shortcomings we have mentioned, we assign the highest marks to the American quartet, a group fully capable of marking a distance between themselves and the bland masses lacking any true differentiating quality.