Obscure Burial, Epiphany

Band demos can be a hit or miss prospect. At times you get to hear the raw energy of a hungry group of musicians. At others, the tepid, meandering of a band trying to find itself. With Obscure Burial’s Epiphany we’ve got four tracks of the former—fury, drive and a sound that’s as raw and caustic as can be.

As with most demos like this the production is, shall we say, rough. From the opening “Night Queen” to the the closing, title track this Finnish bunch of heathens sling blackened death metal mayhem with a ferocity and edge-of-control delivery that keeps you on edge the entire time. Unbridled and teetering on out of control, the rhythm section blasts away maniacally as squealing guitars and driving riffage fill the air. The growling vocals are as vicious as they come.

“Dweller in the Abyss” is just as frantic and raw, but tinged with a bit of twisting melody that seethes and roils in the background, behind the chunky riffs and bestial drum work. “Daemonic Incantation” sounds just like it’s titled. The song starts off with tortured, whining reverb before the band opens the floodgates with old school, swirling death metal. The song is a bit more tame than the previous two, but no less vicious or cacophonous as it fills the air with disjointed guitars and rabid rhythm shifts.

The title track wraps up the demo succinctly — it’s a bludgeoning, violent affair that certainly gets you excited for the band’s first full-length. And as far as demos go, Epiphany is about as good as you can get. The songs are aggressive, off-kilter experience that has certainly gotten a good number of folks salivating for more.