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To the Lions, Omega Massif, and Malevolence…

To the Lions - 2005 demoNow that I try to "approve" all submissions ahead of time, I don't get many demos anymore, but when I was contacted by Canada's To the Lions about their 2005 demo, I sure as hell gave 'em the green light, because this shit kills. Members of the band have previously played in numerous other groups, among them Grade and The Swarm, but their style of metallic hardcore is heavily influenced by the 90's sound, and more specifically that of the Cleveland area, so the end result comes across sounding not unlike a contemporary take on Ringworm's early heyday. But there's a good amount of variety here, with ample tempo changes, a balance of hardcore and metal influences, a smidge of dissonant melody (see the awesome "From Fear and Hate Sets Free" below), etc. But the bottom line is that the songwriting kicks ass and totally throws you back to a better time when eyeliner and shitty melodic Swedish death metal riffs were of no concern. That says it all.

To the Lions "Ride the Apocalypse"
To the Lions "From Fear and Hate Sets Free"

This a free demo, so you can download the entire thing at the band's website, or possibly have them send you a hard copy—which comes in a nice looking textured folder sleeve (but you should at least offer 'em postage money if they're willing to hook you up). They also recorded this shit themselves, which is pretty impressive considering it's only a touch rough around the edges. A slightly thicker and more fluid recording could be truly devastating, but I'm pretty pleased with where they stand at the moment, and I'm definitely looking forward to hearing more. Good stuff.

Omega Massif - KaltNext up is "Kalt", the debut demo from Omega Massif, a relatively new instrumental outfit from Germany. I believe this demo is limited to just 100 copies, so I certainly hope at least one of those makes it into the hands of an interested label, because this band could do some serious damage with this shit if they find the right home. The demo may misleadingly appear brief as it contains just four tracks, but the songs run anywhere from eight to 15 minutes, so the total running time hits just past 45 minutes of slow, doomy material that blends an expected dose of crushing power chords with droning atmospheric textures and numerous explorations of softer dynamics. I wouldn't be complaining were they to mess with including at least a minimal amount of vocals, but they do pull off the instrumental approach without a hitch, and I can tell that the band has a strong vision since the demo's packaging is very well executed—using nothing but metallic silver ink over matte black stock. And while optimum circumstances would yield a louder, slightly more fluid recording in terms of emphasizing both clarity and cohesive natural warmth, this stuff actually sounds really damn good for a band that hasn't even been together for a year at this point.

Omega Massif "Eiswüste"

Since their website isn't up yet, contact the band via their MySpace page (where you can also check out another track) if you're interested in obtaining a copy of the demo. My eyes will damn sure be peeled in hopes of seeing more from these cats in 2006. Nicely done.

Malevolence - Celebration of Dysfunctional BecomingAnd then we have another 2005 demo, this time "Celebration of Dysfunctional Becoming" (And its wacky cover photography!?) from Malevolence. These guys have been around for over 10 years now, and it's hard to believe but I think this is the first material the Portuguese death metal act has recorded since their second full-length, "Martyrialized", way the hell back in 1999. As expected they're still staying true to their uncompromising brand of fast, straightforward death metal, but there are lots of weird guitar textures floating around in there that give the tracks a technical edge and a different sort of atmospheric feel. This approach isn't totally unique to Malevolence, but it certainly bears a lot of potential for the band's forthcoming album. I went ahead and cleaned up the track below just a bit as the demo is unmastered and was both a little on the quiet side as well as somewhat overbearing on the treble. A crisp, powerful recording could definitely yield strong results for such a quick blast like this particular track, so hopefully the band will be working under those conditions when the time comes to record the follow-up to "Martyrialized".

Malevolence "Slithering Angels"

This demo also includes "Our Reversion: The New Front", the two-track 2004 demo from Angel, which is a two-man project that features the chief songwriter of Malevolence contributing lyrics and vocals. The recording on that demo is a little too rough for me to take, and I'm not particularly into the drum machines or electronic textures either, so it's kind of hard to get a feel for where that band is heading. But you can learn more about all of these efforts at the KK Structures website.

Comments

  1. That To the Lions shit rules. I’m definitely gonna have to try and get a hard copy of the demo.

    2.8.2006 | By Tyrone

  2. I wanted to say that I agree.  To the Lions does play music from a different time.  And its always good to hear music thats good.  And now for the angry part.  If I had a million fuckin bucks I would buy every bitch hair chick pants mutherfucker a copy of posion look what the cat dragged in and say: here you go pussy - this is real dress up like a pansy bitch and think your cool rock n roll.  Thats all.

    2.8.2006 | By Anonymous

  3. i’ve noticed a few times you have mentioned the ringworm/integrity “holy terror” sound (you posted something about a Euro band awhile ago that sounded like ringworm. anyways my point is that if you’re into that shit you should track down something by a band called Pale Creation. all i know is that they released an album on east coast empire records before. (i think very distro had a few copies awhile ago). they have a “holy terror” sound to them, you might like it.

    2.8.2006 | By [email protected]

  4. Yeah the Pale creation stuff kicks ass, it was posted back in
    August last year.

    2.9.2006 | By Anonymous

  5. Thanks for having an article on To The Lions, I never heard of them before. They are very good, also thanks for introducing me to The Starting Point, that is a kick ass disk.

    2.12.2006 | By Anonymous

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