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DAEMONA
Il Demone Dentro EP

Self-released (2015)
Rating: 9/10

Daemona is a truly frightening British extreme metal act and one which gives me faith once again in the current death metal scene. With their origins in Ipswich, Bury St. Edmunds and Colchester, Deamona is not the sort of posse you want to mess with. The band are fronted by one Nina Piccirillo, who also goes by the name “The Cuntess” – such severity in regards to the moniker of an alter ego should give you an idea as to the volatile cacophony encased within this new four-track, self-released EP.

With stunning artwork from Martin Linford Petrushka, Il Demone Dentro also features the twin guitar attack of Sam “Strix Bellmer” Bloomfield Spink and Simon “Psychosis” Palman-Titchener, and they are backed by bassist George “Stripe” Joyce and drum lord Logan “El Matador” Dennis.

So, what do we get with this slab of metal? Well, as we dissect the sound and remove the innards and prize free the bones, the end result is a devastating array of brutality channelled through Nina’s horrifying vocal displays. From the off there’s an infectious mix of weighty thrash nuances and ghastly death metal nastiness where Nina’s vocals take on an almost doomy growled drool; the guitars working a melancholic magic amidst the percussive barrages. Immediately there’s a superb fusion of slower viciousness married with hints of progressive speed.

Daemona have a wonderful ability at bringing in traditional metal aspects as ‘Grave Seperator’ begins its vile reign. Nina is a true goddess of the macabre – her vocals so menacing and purulent to the point where the rasps take on a grim black metal hostility, and then schizophrenically waver into death and grindcore burps of evil. Even so, in spite of the putrid nature this is still crushingly yet melodic extreme metal which is built upon the foundation of that twin guitar attack and Logan’s menacing thuds.

Next up we have the doom-laden introduction of ‘Poison Labyrinth’, although this soon shifts pattern and becomes the fastest track on the EP; an out and out blistering thrash / death attack with jarring passages which punctuate the feisty segments. The leads are fantastic, swirling and ascending like ash from a smouldering fire as they toy with the venomous bass trundles and Nina’s gruelling groans. George “Stripe” Joyce is certainly the star of the show here though and the progressive segment where bass and drum cavort is magical, hinting at the likes of Atheist and Death for complexity. ‘Poison Labyrinth’ is probably my favourite track on the opus simply because of its invention and effortless ability to meander with technicality and dark prowess, and the climax is another feverish fervour into all out aggression.

‘Sick Prophet’ follows, and again I’m reminded of when death metal was at its most complex peak in the early 90s. The drums kick and gallop as the band rumbles, and the guitars once again provide a stable backdrop to Nina’s truly horrifying hoarse growls which have been wrenched from her innards and puked out in violent manner. Again, the band opts for some intriguing measured moments where the leads squirm in a Slayer-like ominous manner before the band lurches into a catchy juggernaut trudge.

The opus climaxes with ‘Everything You Touch Bleeds’, and what a way to finish a debut platter. A simmering guitar brings the initial trickling atmosphere before being joined by a deft nodding drum. Further melancholy abounds when the musicians come together to provide a melancholic air laced by Nina’s tones, but as the track builds so does the intensity; the result being a steady deep, dark thrashing grind. Nina’s vocals become more and more harrowing as the track progresses; her bewitching yaps aided again by a sombre strain. Daemona are already masters at being unpredictable in their patterns; one moment hammering out heavy, relentless death-thrash, but the next vomiting up a majestically doomy landscape. As the track ends as it began I’m already gasping for more material from this bunch of ungodly upstarts.

Suddenly, extreme metal has received the wake-up call it needed and its name is Daemona.

Neil Arnold

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