Recommended Aussie Tunes:Psycroptic | The new single "A Fragile Existence" | Listen

Album Reviews : Daemon Pyre – Daemon Pyre

By on February 5, 2015

10481170_1485652765008597_5942042601264271712_nSince changing their name from As Silence Breaks early last year, Sydney-based outfit, Daemon Pyre have been hard at work reshaping themselves and introducing their new, even more unrelenting brand of metal onto the Australian live scene. Now, the band has released their self-titled debut, and in doing so, fully shed their old skin and emerged a far more menacing creature.

The album kicks off with “The Nihilist Inside” – a slow, dark, dreary and completely evil 41-second opener, which perfectly contrasts the pummeling that the next track, “The Veil Of The Martyr” inflicts. Within the first 20 seconds, the track takes Daemon Pyre’s sound far beyond the extremities of any As Silence Breaks track that I can recall. It’s heavy, fast and demonic, and it doesn’t let up for even a second. Vocalist Sam Rilatt is easily the stand out on this one, giving the music the deathly lows and screeching highs required to make the song one of the best on the album.

Track three, “Courage Burns Brightest”, despite having a pretty average title, takes the album in a new, but equally eerie direction with its introduction of groove infused djent-like riffs. This has got to be the catchiest song on the whole album, but somehow it remains totally dark and atmospheric at the same time, almost like At The Gates and Meshuggah got together and had a demonic love child.

That’s actually one of the things I like most about this album, each track is an entity unto its own, but the album as a whole has a very distinct, post-apocalyptic vibe going for it. It builds and builds until it becomes a mansion of deranged, yet perfectly constructed carnage.

Other stand out tracks on the album include: “Defeated” – a straight out brutal, balls to the wall opus, “Misanthropic Parallels” – a five minute gem that starts slow and very quickly builds to become a crushing blackened death metal monster with one of the most devastatingly good choruses I’ve ever heard, and “Darkened Perceptions” – a slower and more intense journey through hell, featuring Jason Peppiatt of Psycroptic. All these tracks are master classes in how to write an original metal song.

Now, don’t get me wrong, while it might sound like this is one of my favourite albums, Daemon Pyre aren’t breaking any new ground, but they are doing what few death metal bands can and writing good, solid songs that show-off their obvious talent without getting, for lack of a better word, wanky. The album melts your face with fast, aggressive, yet catchy riffs; killer harmonies; brutal vocals; thumping bass and pummelling drums – with the odd solo thrown in for good measure. Production wise, the album is A-grade, which is to be expected considering it was tracked and produced by Shane Edwards (Northlane, Thy Art Is Murder, Arteries, Death Audio) and mastered by Jens Bogren (At The Gates, Soilwork, Amon Amarth, Kreator, Opeth).

Above all, what makes Daemon Pyre so enjoyable is that unlike many recent death metal albums, it actually has feeling – even if that feeling is one of death, destruction and despair. Daemon Pyre is available now online with its physical launch set for February 13. Go and get it.

Band: Daemon Pyre
Album: Daemon Pyre
Year: 2015
Genre: Metal
Label: New Justice Records / MGM
Origin: Sydney, NSW
https://www.facebook.com/DaemonPyre

Tracklist:
1. The Nihilist Inside
2. The Of Veil Of The Martyr
3. Courage Burns Brightest
4. Defeated
5. Iconography
6. Beyond The Razor Wire
7. The Usurper Of Hope
8. Misanthropic Parallels
9. The Temptest
10. Tainted By The Shadow
11. Darkened Perceptions (feat. Jason Peppiatt)