New Jersey’s contemporary abstract Death Metallers Replicant have re-released their 2016 demo EP ‘Worthless Desires’. A four-track outing that served as the initial blueprint for the band’s deranged and unique sound. It was the first glimpse at a musical habitat that they would continue to strengthen and embody with some excellent albums in the years that followed.
Opening with ‘Ripped from Within’, the band’s preference for unconventional time signatures is evident from the demo’s outset. Michael Gonçalves’ raspy, higher register vocals were already taking shape, his unique vocalisations are something that has become a defining factor of the sound of Replicant over the years. The following track ‘Shroud’ opens with a chaotic riff that alternates between chugging moments and instances of pinch harmonic sweeps. Structurally it feels akin to some kind of blade being refined against a sharpening stone. As the song progresses, the riffing on the track morphs into more melodic territory whilst Gonçalves continues to bark his ominous declarations.
‘The Ever Dying Realm’ opens to more jagged and demented riffing, and the track has a particularly volatile aplomb during its various progressions. A couple of quieter sections on this track also seem to hint towards some of the disconcerting ambience that would feature on much of the band’s later material. The final track on the demo is ‘Anti-instinct – The Weathered End’, which serves up some of the most aggressive ideas on the tape. More dissonant and spacious sections arrive in the track’s second half, and I quite enjoy the disconnected, almost free-form stance in some areas.
When considering the achievements of this group down the line, ‘Worthless Desires’ demonstrates that Replicant has had a clear identity from its conception. This release does include some rather basic demo-quality production, which I say as purely an observation. Production values have been excellent on the band’s recent works and the writing on this demo tape demonstrates the ambitions that Replicant would fully realise on later releases.
