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Demonic Resurrection: The Return to Darkness

If there's one metal scene that truly impressed me in 2010, it was definitely the Indian extreme metal explosion. Even though other countries such as Sweden, America, and England had plenty of high-profile exports, it's amazing how many overlooked gems came out of India this year. Of all the terrific metal releases coming from the nation, Demonic Resurrection's The Return to Darkness may very well be the best. The highly progressive approach, technical playing style, and incorporation of melody make The Return to Darkness a journey worth experiencing. Demonic Resurrection's third full-length album is excellent in almost every sense of the word. If you like progressive death metal, please don't miss out on this one.

Demonic Resurrection plays a highly technical and progressive, yet still melodic, style of black/death metal. The main influences I hear when listening to Demonic Resurrection are Opeth, Edge of Sanity, Enslaved, and Emperor, albeit more synth-laden than any of these bands. Demonic Resurrection has a distinct and recognizable sound that's clear on all of The Return to Darkness. Every song is very memorable, featuring melodic hooks and true brutality. This is just one of those albums that keep you coming back for more and more. Of all the tracks here, the highlights are "Where Dreams and Darkness Unite", "A Tragedy Befallen", "Bound by Blood, Fire, and Stone", the very progressive "Lord of Pestilence", "The Final Stand", and the epic conclusion "Omega, I". I mentioned over half of the album as highlights, which just proves how excellent the music is. All of the other songs are still far above average, but not quite masterpieces such as the aforementioned tracks. Aside from the fantastic compositions, another highlight about Demonic Resurrection is the talent of its musicians. The highly technical guitar riffing and complex drum patterns provide just the right amount of heaviness, while Mephisto's keyboards provide a spot-on sense of atmosphere. The vocals from Sahil "The Demonstealer" Makhija are also noteworthy - he actually masters many different vocal styles, whether it is deep guttural growls, black metal sneers, or clean singing. As a whole, the execution and compositional talent of Demonic Resurrection is top-notch.

The production sounds great. Although it may be a bit too "over-produced" and synthetic for some people, I personally think it sounds great.

The Return to Darkness is an absolutely fantastic album by Demonic Resurrection, and is a fitting end to their Darkness trilogy. If you like progressive death metal with melodic and technical twists, this is an essential 2010 album. I didn't know what to expect when I received this album, but I can now confidently say that it was one of the best metal releases this year. I'm going to hand out 4 shiny ones for this superb effort. Long live Indian death metal!


Track Listing
1. Between Infinity and Oblivion (2:00)
2. Where Dreams and Darkness Unite (6:00)
3. The Warrior's Return (6:38)
4. A Tragedy Befallen (6:14)
5. The Unrelenting Surge of Vengeance (5:02)
6. Bound by Blood, Fire and Stone (5:19)
7. Lord of Pestilence (11:28)
8. Dismembering the Fallen (6:41)
9. The Final Stand (6:16)
10. Omega, I (8:30)

Added: February 2nd 2011
Reviewer: Jeff B
Score:
Related Link: Band MySpace Page
Hits: 2248
Language: english

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Demonic Resurrection: The Return to Darkness
Posted by Pete Pardo, SoT Staff Writer on 2010-12-06 11:36:25
My Score:

The shadows of Edge of Sanity and Emperor cast a dark spectre over India's Demonic Resurrection on their latest Candlelight Records release The Return to Darkness. Firmly rooted in both death & black metal, the music of Demonic Resurrection is at times highly technical, symphonic, atmospheric, and quite often very brutal. Many of the tracks on display here are epic in scope, as the band mixes crushing heaviness with sophisticated passages that result in one of extreme metal's biggest surprises for early 2011.

Just check out the bludgeoning riffs, orchestral keys, blazing lead guitar work (courtesy of Sea of Tranquility's own Daniel Rego), and mix of gutteral death metal growls & clean vocals on the smashing "Bound by Blood, Fire, and Stone", or the dark & foreboding marriage of Opeth and Enslaved on the near 12-minute extravaganza "Lord of Pestilence". Be on the lookout for some of the best symphonic death metal around on the bruising closer "Omega, I", chock full of a variety of vocal styles, beefy riffs, keys galore, jackhammer drum blasts, and dazzling lead guitar work.

India is not usually a country where you think of superb progressive extreme metal, but if The Return to Darkness is any indication, there's some great stuff brewing down there that the world is going to take notice of.

(Publisher's Note-The Return to Darkness was originally released Internationally by the band in early 2010, but saw its official North American release on Candlelight Records in late January 2011.)



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