Apart from a previously online released song that also appears on this demo cassette, with ‘Formless Horrors’ we are dealing with the first feat of this Death Metal band from Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. Everything about this demo tape exudes an old-school atmosphere and that is exactly what these gentlemen present you with.
After the cheap Casio Dungeon Synth-like intro, the band stats marching forward into four songs that add up to 16 minutes. Nice low-pitched and generally mid-tempo Death Metal that is largely reminiscent of those ever-rolling riffs/rhythms of Bolt Thrower. But they do combine that with the violence of old Monstrosity and those earliest recordings of Brutality. The combining of both European and American Death Metal has led to fine results before and to that list we can add ‘Formless Horrors’ without further ado. But it also clearly steps off the beaten track by making the whole thing a lot more melodic than the three bands cited above as references, not only does Ectospire provide their music with some melodic guitar leads but that cheap Casio appears to pop up more often, becoming quite a valuable instrument that evokes an authentic 70’s horror atmosphere. The band seems to have felt quite free in their creative leeway with the addition of those elements and in the process giving more meaning to the title of this demo, this might indeed be regarded as some formless horror, but definitely one that you tend to get back to all the time.
