Year : 2020
Style : Death Metal
Country : Sweden
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 115 mb
Bio:
Demonical was spawned in March 2006 by former Centinex members Johan Jansson (guitars & vocals), Martin Schulman (bass) and Ronnie Bergerstål (drums) with a mission to return to the roots of death metal and deliver a sheer dose of darkness and brutality.The first audio assault, a four-track promo attack entitled “Bloodspell Divine”, was recorded at Necromorbus Studios during July the same year. In November 2006, Demonical added vocalist Ludvig Engellau to the line-up (because Johan wanted to fully concentrate on the six-string axe) and signed a worldwide multi-album deal with the German label Cyclone Empire. The bands first full-length album, “Servants of The Unlight”, was recorded at both Black Lounge and Necromorbus Studios during January and February 2007 and released in April the same year. In November 2007 Temple of Darkness released a limited Demonical/Absu 7″ EP featuring one track from the “Bloodspell Divine” promo.In December 2007 the band parted ways with vocalist Ludvig Engellau due to musical and personal reasons. Demonical continued for a few months with various session vocalists until late March 2008 when Sverker “Widda” Widgren came on board as the new fulltime frontman.The bands second full-length album, “Hellsworn”, was recorded at Necromorbus Studios between December 2008 and February 2009 and released by Cyclone Empire in May 2009. A split 7″ EP called “Imperial Anthems Vol.1” with Paganizer was released by Cyclone Empire in early 2010. This limited vinyl featured an exclusive Demonical track recorded at the “Hellsworn” session.In September 2010 Demonical once again entered Necromorbus Studios in order to record “Death Infernal”, their anticipated third full-length album. The album was recorded throughout the fall and released in Europe by Cyclone Empire (April 2011) and in north-America by Metal Blade (July 2011).During the fall 2011 drummer Ronnie Bergerstål decided to leave the band due to scheduling conflicts and he was replaced by Fredrik Widigs.After “Death Infernal” was released the band decided to add a second guitarist for live situations. A few session members were used at several tours until Daniel Gustavsson joined as a full-time member during the summer 2012.The first half of 2013 was spent at both Necromorbus and Wing Studios in Stockholm with the recordings of the bands fourth album, “Darkness Unbound”. After the recording a line-up change took place with Johan Haglund replacing Johan Jansson and Ämir Batar replacing Fredrik Widigs. “Darkness Unbound” was released worldwide in November 2013.A limited split 7”EP with Nunslaughter, entitled “European Deathcharge”, was released in July 2014 in support of both bands joint co-headlining tour.In December 2014 Demonical both parted ways with drummer Ämir Batar and guitarist Daniel Gustavsson as well as inked a new worldwide deal with Agonia Records. The first release for their new label-home, a four track MCD entitled “Black Flesh Redemption”, was recorded at Wing Studios in early 2015 and released in April. The recording featured session members Eki Kumpulainen on guitar and Kennet Englund on drums.In early 2017 the band parted with long time vocalist Sverker Widgren, due to time- and priority related matters, and replaced him with Alexander Högbom. At the same time guitarist Eki Kumpulainen and drummer Kennet Englund became permanent members of Demonical making the band a solid and stable unity ready for the things to come. During the fall 2017 Demonical recorded their fifth full-length album entitled “Chaos Manifesto” - together with the award-winning Swedish producer Karl Daniel Lidén - for a March 2018 release through Agonia Records.In the summer 2019 both vocalist Alexander Högbom and drummer Kennet Englund decided to leave the band due to time- and motivation related issues once the touring cycle was finished.June and July 2020 were spent with producer Karl Daniel Lidén for what was to become “World Domination”, the bands sixth full-length. The album will be released in October 2020 and marks the return of original drummer Ronnie Bergerstål and debut for new vocalist Christofer Säterdal.Over the years Demonical have played several hundred shows all over Europe, Russia, North and South America. The band has done several tours, both as headline and support, and played tons of festivals, both small and huge ones, always delivering high quality brutality of finest kind.
Album:
Death metal juggernauts DEMONICAL have returned with their sixth album World Domination.Marking the return of original drummer Ronnie Bergerstål and the addition of new vocalist Christofer Sätderdal, will enough have changed to mark a new direction for the band or will they continue on their path of familiar, melodic, HM-2 obsessed brutality?From the opening notes, it’s clear that DEMONICAL do not intend to take any prisoners here. Raging opener Kingdom Done is a thick, weighty wall of noise interspersed with wailing guitar solos which eventually slow to a bone-splintering crunch. The production is rich and clean, which only adds to the overall package, as this record sounds utterly gargantuan from the get-go. As a mission statement, they could have done much worse.The intensity does not let up as we come to Hellfire Rain, a galloping romp set to thunderous d-beats. The drumming here is awesome, it is deep and provides a strong backbone on which to hang the excessive amount of chainsaw riffs on display. This is a theme that will be explored further, as DEMONICAL‘s faster material throughout the album is total grinding insanity. Tracks like The Thin Darkness and We Stand As One throw out menacing riffs left, right and centre, creating a fantastic sense of maddening intensity and rotten swagger.There is a great amount of melody to World Domination. While this is still death metal of the grimiest variety, tracks like Aeons Of Death and particularly Victorious showcase that the band does not need to rely on speed and shredding to get their point across. Crunchy riffs, slow chug parts, triumphant melodies and at certain points, glimpses of an almost positive atmosphere can be just as effective and devastating.That is to say, until DEMONICAL serve up something of a curveball. Slipping Apart, (which can best be described as a death metal ballad) takes the flirtation with melody a little too far. Clean guitar lines and vocals, periodically reinforced with gutturals and sludgy distortion is an ambitious idea, it just doesn’t seem to fit amongst the smouldering brutality of the album and falls flat somewhat, representing a rare and uncharacteristic miss for the Swedes.Luckily, Calescent Punishment promptly arrives and slams into the listener like a ton of bricks, blowing out the final minutes of the album with a head-splitting death metal cacophony. It’s an absolute rager and sweeps away the memory of what went before it, wrapping everything up in a frenzy of chainsaw riffing and savage drum work.Overall, World Domination is death metal done in an intelligent and satisfying fashion. They never stick on one riff or composition for too long, and despite their utilisation of Sweden’s favourite guitar pedal, they don’t over-rely on it or on the nostalgia that the Boss HM-2 brings. This is far beyond some Left Hand Path clone, DEMONICAL write fresh and interesting takes on a tried and tested formula. It is this clear love for the old-school death metal formula and willingness to think outside the box in regard to it that is so endearing. It’s a total homage to classic Swedeath refracted through the lens of a modern production job, what’s not to love? Well, maybe the ballad…
Line Up:
Christofer Säterdal - Vocals (2019-present) - See also: Fimbultyr, ex-Hell Patrol
Johan Haglund - Guitars (rhythm) (2013-present) - See also: Ikhon, Spasmodic, ex-Metaphor
Eki Kumpulainen - Guitars (lead) (2017-present) - See also: Skulldrain, Undivine, ex-Mortellez, ex-Zodiac Ciphers, ex-In Aeternum
Martin Schulman - Bass (2006-present) - See also: Centinex, ex-Visions, ex-Interment
Ronnie Bergerstål - Drums (2006-2011, 2019-present) - See also: Goathead, Nattas, Julie Laughs Nomore, World Below, ex-Triton Enigma, RedScream, ex-Bloodofjupiter, ex-Centinex, ex-Grave, ex-Entombed A.D. (live), ex-Amaran, ex-Mynjun, ex-Sibliance
Tracklist:
01. My Kingdom Done 04:04
02. Hellfire Rain 03:59
03. Aeons of Death 05:22
04. The Thin Darkness 03:58
05. We Stand as One 03:34
06. Victorious 05:51
07. Slipping Apart 05:32
08. Calescent Punishment 03:42
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
