Demonic were a short-lived Norwegian Black Metal band formed by a trio of musicians who released a demo in 1994 which was followed by the release of the ‘Lead Us Into Darkness’ EP in 1995 and a final full length album entitled ‘The Empire Of Agony’ in 1997. The last two were released by Necropolis Records at the time. A Fine Day To Die Records took it upon himself to re-release the MCD as a split CD with Swedish band Ishtar and the full length in its original form.
As is usual the case with most of the A Fine Day To Die Records releases, the 9 tracks of the album were thoroughly remastered. Remastered to such a degree that the instruments have obtained more space to breathe and the atmospherics of the album have grown exponentially. One could easily say it’s a new recording if he did not know any better.
From head to start, the music hammers like a hammer on an anvil: the overall atmosphere is spacious yet suffocating. I believe that Metal-Archives once mentioned just how awful the original production was.
Those who never heard about Demonic but like authentic Norwegian Black Metal should obtain a copy of this album; those who have the original album from 1997 will be pleasantly surprised.
