Mumbai extreme metallers deliver a top-notch mix of black, death and melodic metal as they weave a new plot on their fourth album
'The Demon King' Album artwork
Demonic Resurrection at the Zippo presents Rolling Stone Metal Awards 2014. Photo: Prashin Jagger
[easyreview cat1title = “The Demon King” cat1rating = 3.5 cat1detail = “Universal / Candlelight”]
‘The Demon King’ Album artwork
DR’s fourth full-length album steps up the game from their 2010 album, The Return To Darkness. Slow, keyboard-driven intros heard on DR’s previous albums have been laid to rest. Instead, vocalist Sahil Makhija aka The Demonstealer announces with his growl, “The king is dead!” on “The Assassination.” Tracks such as “Facing the Faceless” and “The Promise Of Never” feature some slick compositional work, but right from the first guitar solo on “The Assassination,” you know that lead guitarist Nishith Hegde [from heavy metal band Albatross] might just have some catching up to do to fill former guitarist Daniel Rego’s shoes. “Shattered Equilibrium,” a song written entirely by Rego, is easily the most intense song on The Demon King.
The single “Death, Desolation and Despair” might be the best mix of the blackened death metal DR has been known for, but it’s the title track “The Demon King” that features a catchy, heavy groove you can bet on to get the moshpits going. Drummer Virendra Kaith’s technical metal drumming are best showcased on “Trail of Devastation,” with bassist Ashwin Shriyan, who shows no signs of being the newest member part of the songwriting process in the band.
Fourteen years on, most bands as old as DR are always thinking of doing a back-to-roots album, but DR wears its badge of musical evolution proudly. The Demon King is a great introduction to metal that’s not gimmicky.
Key Tracks: “The Demon King,” “Shattered Equilibrium”
This review appeared in the July 2014 issue of ROLLING STONE India.
Listen to “Trail of Devastation” from The Demon King
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