Horrifying Visions (Self Released)

 “Horrifying Visions” is the first and only release at the time of this Dutch Death Metal quartet formed in 2000. This demo consist in five tracks clocked at 19 minutes of crushing Death/Thrash Metal full of macabre atmospheres, this whole demo is based over mid paced thrashing structures where the mid tone guitars leads the music from the beginning to the end with powerful, violent riffs and a vaguely melodic feeling. The drum work here is heavy, unmerciful and versatile dealing perfectly with the varied and quite complex structures of this demo, while the bass work is muscular and destructive adding tons of weight to the yet heavy formula. The vocal work on this demo is quite remarkable as well; the guttural and aggressive vocals of Ronald Van Baren are one of the crudest elements on this work, which enormously contributes with the old-school Death Metal vibe that surrounds this demo… We can also find some slight Black Metal traces along these five tracks, reflected at some strident riffs, some speedy structure or some shrieking voice, but more than a strictly musical thing, this whole Black Metal vibe is especially noticeable at the somber atmosphere of this work, which even when undoubtedly belongs to the realms of Death Metal, contains a frightening aura worthy of a Black Metal album. The whole demo production is very decent sounding; you can easily distinguish each instrument and its respective performance, the whole mixing sounds balanced and powerful, don’t expect a crystal clear sound, but considering this is a demo,  the whole production here is definitely remarkable… “Horrifying Visions” is a nice debut, a work full of destruction and obscurity that may easily catch the attention of more than one Death Metal diehard… (AP)