Demonaz
March of the Norse

Demonaz Doom Occulta was the founder (along with Abbath) of what is rightly considered today as one of the most important bands in black metal: Immortal. Active since 1990, the Norwegian band created a series of small masterpieces that are now a reference point for musicians and connoisseurs of this fascinating and extreme musical style. Demonaz collaborated with Immortal between 1991 and 1997, during which time he worked hard as a composer and lyricist, but especially as a guitarist. Along with fellow countrymen Darkthrone, Immortal revolutionized the way black metal was played, replacing the dark atmospheres of the classic style with icy and sharp guitar riffs, combined with a punishing and lightning-fast drumming, as if with each beat the listener was struck by the irate snow of a storm.

Demonaz was a guitarist unique in his kind, untechnical and extremely fast. His riffs were icy whirlwinds that swirled in the eardrums of the listener. His guitar work froze the audience over three devastating albums: "Pure Holocaust", "Battles in the North" and "Blizzard Beast". It was a worldwide success, at least for those who dared to venture into the wintry labyrinths of those three masterpieces. From that moment, Immortal's violent tale reached the direst point of its career: in 1997 (shortly after the release of "Blizzard Beast"), Demonaz was forced to abandon his activity as a guitarist due to acute tendonitis, which was diagnosed during the album's production. The artist remained with the band, mainly dealing with the writing of the lyrics. However, the guitarist would never return. He was destined to be appreciated only by listening again to the past releases, as a bitter reminiscence of what once was. And the composer Demonaz? He would eventually rise from the ashes. One day...

"March of the Norse" was released in 2011, representing the first step in Demonaz's solo career, in which he presents himself as a singer, author, and composer (the guitars are played by Ice Dale); the album was excellently produced by Nuclear Blast. The unfortunate events of previous years led the artist to scale down his musical proposal, adopting a less aggressive and deeper style: viking metal. The album is quite fast (ten tracks with a little under forty minutes of music), the rhythms decidedly less so (the drumming beats a time halfway between the vigorous mid-tempos of Bathory, and the classical heavy gallop). A tribute to Quorthon's band is included in the intro "Northern Hymn", in full Bathory style. But it's "Where Gods Once Roamed" that is the emotional peak of the album; a song with icy and adventurous riffs, with choruses that seem like echoes of ancestral deities, hidden at an unspecified point in the desolate and still Norwegian lands. "Over the Mountains" offers the same emotions, only this time the guitar work is more refined: the melancholic phrasing of the electric parts placed at the end of the track is remarkable. Also excellent is "Legend of Fire and Ice" built with a brave and martial riff. In short, a pleasant album, not difficult to digest, perfect music for Demonaz's hoarse and restless voice. The only flaw: some parts are a bit monotonous, but it is still a good product, meant to symbolize the modest redemption of a great artist.

Federico "Dragonstar" Passarella.