CoC : Deforge - Freedom Release : Review

Deforge - _Freedom Release_
by: Jackie Smit (3.5 out of 5)

Deforge hail from Italy and play fairly straightforward, old-school death metal with a strong throwback to late eighties / early nineties releases -- particularly those by the likes of Death, Malevolent Creation and to a lesser extent, Swedish acts like Dismember. If anything has to be said of these guys, it would be that they certainly display a standard of musicianship far surpassing most of the demos that usually land in up at Chronicles of Chaos HQ. However -- and I would hate for this to become a recurring criticism in my demo reviews -- for all their musical talents, Gaetano Ettorre's vocals aren't so much deplorable, as that they don't even remotely suit the band's style. A high-pitched, quasi-black metal shriek, utterly devoid of any power or impact that ends up taking the proverbial piss and vinegar out of tracks like "Vicious Circle" and "Mindless State", and which leads one to believe that were Deforge to consider recruiting a more capable larynx-abuser, they may well hear a corporate knock at the door before long.

Contact: http://www.deforgeband.com

(article published 28/8/2003)