Demonic Slaughter-Dark Essence EP

I'm not much into black metal, but somehow Demonic Slaughter's ''Dark Essence'' EP seemed surprisingly appealing to me at first. Though after a couple of listens I wasn't completely satisfied with my result, I still enjoyed certain moments of darkened epicness and glory on the album. It turns out that the band just kept releasing albums from the moment they were formed, and their latest album was the 2011 ''Revelations Of Death''. This EP is yet to be turned into an album, but for know we'll have to amuse ourselves with an un-sufficient amount of black metal that really doesen't count as original.

''Dark Essence'' strikes the same as any other typical black metal record, but strangely turns unto more abrupt directions from time to time. The riffing is pretty classic black metal, with heavy usage of dense, chaotic chord and tremolo picking to add that incredible boast of atmosphere, naturally. The vocals are much less raspier than any tupical one of its kind and adds a death metal edge to the album at times, when wildly supported by the barrages of tremolo bursts. The one really cool thing about the EP, is that it can perfectly attain a classic, dark, thick atmosphere, something that's not exactly too epic or heroic, or even clear. For the most part, the album is driven savagely with tremolo bursts and grotesque gutturals, roaming everywhere, but in songs like ''Black Storm Invocation'', the music may tend to change main aspects in order to achieve doomy ambients and a very sinister atmosphere. ''Inner-Self Transfiguration'' is an incredibly hard-hitting yet almost infinetely numbing track, it blasts at full speed until the very end, spreading chaos aswel as brutally pulverising the listener with its crushing tremolo/chord hybrids. A very stellar track it is, though unfortunately all the other songs easily fall short of reaching the same attitude as itself.

''Inner-Self Transfiguration'' boasts the album with an immediate blow, instead of increasing the EP's overall quality as fragmants, little by little, just like the other four tracks that can be considered proper songs. After ''Into The Unknown'', which follows pretty much where the previous track left, the EP begins to lose its accuracy in entertaining you adn ultimately, its efficiency. Though while the ride lasts, the EP could be quite entertaining if you are really into black metal, or even darker sub-genres of death metal. I hope that ''Dark Essence'' comes with some severe improvements when it turns into an album, because if it doesen't, I'm not going to get it. For know, I can't call this a bad thing, nor can I call it an excellent album. All I can say is that it keeps channeling in my mind between decen and awesome.

Highlights
Inner-Self Transfiguration
Into The Unknown

Rating: 80%