Hail to Malaysia, a country that has spawned bestial hordes of Black Metal and Death Metal since the past and currently continues to erupt. Normally, when talking about Malaysia, the capital always comes to mind, as it’s where the largest number of hordes emerge from. However, in the case of Gerhana, the band doesn’t come from the capital. From Baling, it vomits its first demo against the world, crowned with the cursed name ‘In the Abyssal Depths’.
One click and, after a short introduction, the black spiral emerges. It drags you to the bowels of hell, unleashed by M.L. Blackblood, the only visible musician behind the conspiracy. The drums were handled by R., “The man of a damn letter.” M.L. Blackblood chokes with a guttural voice that doesn’t fall totally into the territory of Death Metal, alternating with reverberated screams. He vomits blasphemies over chaotic drum rhythms and sharp guitars.
‘With Eyes That Burn like a Dying Star’ is the name that opened the Malaysian abyss. The track is plagued with very good, fast riffs that remind me of Dark Funeral from ’98. Halfway through, a d-beat takes over, giving a stickier nuance to all the chaos. Coincidentally, this is the longest song on the demo! This is how a damn demo should open: like a shot directly in the forehead!
The next attack is half diluted until a distorted bass bursts the balloon of tranquility. Again, the chaotic speed takes its turn to annihilate, alternating between bridges with mid-tempo rhythms and crushing guitars. These rhythm changes make ‘Dominion Might’ the track with the most variations of all. Something to highlight is the good sound achieved, which could easily be the sound of a full-length.
The trio of horns closes with the title track. Like the horn that opened the demo, it enjoys good riffs very much in the Dark Funeral wave (it is definitely the influence), sharpened and easy to memorize with fast, chaotic drum rhythms. The voices are already an indelible sigil of the almost 17-minute duration, which is dying in the lap of black arpeggios as if descending again into the abyss. My favorite song, without a doubt, is ‘With Eyes That Burn like a Dying Star’.
