Geryon, Demo 2008
In ancient Greece, Geryon was a mythical beast of a man — a powerful warrior-giant. In more modern times he was depicted in Dante’s Divine Comedy as a winged, demon-like character in a league with other chthonic entities. However he was portrayed, Geryon was a fierce figure in ancient history. Hoping to channel that power, Bay Area’s own Geryon forge a thoroughly menacing and powerful brand of metalcore on their 2008 demo.
This four track disc has aggressive guitar work, beefy drums and killer vocals, but what’s a real surprise on this disc is the band’s maturity. Having formed in June of 2006 and already on their second vocalist the band has a well polished presence on this disc that rivals many of the more established bands in their genre. A super nice production certainly doesn’t hurt any.
People’s Hammer
I’ve got to tell you, man, that for a demo this disc has a rich and clean production. The opening tracks starts off with some beefy riffing as thunderous drum work joins is quickly. This is a chugging monstrosity of a song, with deep guttural vocals, head banging grooves and catchy hooks. There’s a pretty nice lead at the 1:30 mark that showcases these guys versatility and musicianship well.
Raze the Flag
With “People’s Hammer” over quicker than you like, the band moves onto another pummeling metalcore fueled track. This one has everything you could want in a commercially viable metal band — great vocals with lots of variety and power, melodic, yet crushing guitar work and pummeling rhythms. There’s another nice lead just after the 1:40 mark that has a pretty solid foot in the rock door. I’m digging it’s addition to the band’s sound. The second half of this song sees lead vocalist, Jacob Wilcox, really stretching his vocals capabilities with impressive results — although, I personally could do without the clean portions, it’s still good to show what you got on your demo.
Onward to Golgotha
A little reverb gets this one going as a crushing rhythm section beats heavily through the speakers as the vocals come in. This one has a nice head banging groove throughout it’s duration. This one is a bit slower and more plodding in it’s approach, yet it fits perfectly and is a fierce, monolith of a song. There’s a great breakdown like bit of drumming and riffing after the 2:30 mark that’ll have you circle pitting where ever it is that you’re listening to this song.
The Mercantile Corollary
The final track on this demo, “The Mercantile Corollary” starts off aggressively with galloping drums and slick guitar work. The vocals are deep and guttural from the onset of this brain bruising track. I love the melodic guitar work around the 1:30 mark as Wilcox screams his ass off.
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Man, for a demo release Geryon have got their hands full attempting to contain four monster tracks of brutal and aggressive metalcore. From soud crushing drums to inspiring leads, the band does well to highlight their strengths as a group while vocalist Wilcox shreds his throat with deep guttural growls and mid range screams to complete the package. I can’t wait to hear more from these guys.
Favorite Tracks:
All of them.
Additional Notes:
N/A