CoC : Daemon - Eye for an Eye (and the World Turns Blind) : Review

Daemon - _Eye for an Eye (and the World Turns Blind)_
(Diehard, 2002)
by: Adam Lineker (9 out of 10)

Getting things off on the right foot with a truly horrible intro, which they swear was done before September the 11th, the bio picks up on the immediate theme of terrorist repercussions by talking about Daemon delivering missiles of highly explosive death metal and showing no mercy. Rather than being cheap and sick, it throws an effective context on the mood of these songs. Thankfully, the metal is good enough to do such a description justice and is very powerful. The vocals are guttural and butch but mostly comprehensible; these are belted out over a chunky guitar sound that fills out the mix but is not too messy. Daemon boast some well-constructed riff progressions, pieced together with effective compositional touches such as short drum fills in the pauses. The lead solos have shades of both Slayer and Pantera; it quickly becomes apparent that these guys are good musicians. The drum lines are littered with breaks and fills and they are complex enough underneath all the embellishment. This metal seems performed with controlled aggression; it never goes out of control but maintains a strong intensity. The majority of the songs are energetic and fast paced and the pace doesn't let up. The first few songs seem to leave nothing more than a feeling of quality, being impressively progressive enough but with some gutsy hooks. Yet there is melody here, a certain powerful groove to the crafted riffs, which is engrossing. _EfaE(atWTB)_ is well-produced with good use of vocal effects to give an inventive but classy touch to the phrases. This album speaks volumes of creative flair and it is all well performed, particularly the guitar solos, which seem vital to the music and are an actual pleasure to hear. The drums seem a little low in the mix from what they could have been, but this album has enough impact to compensate for what may have been lost here; though still odd considering that it is ex-Death, Dark Angel, Testament and SYL drummer Gene Hoglan. This metal has a modern edge -- Pantera fans would feel at home with this. Daemon sound accomplished and in control. This is very good metal, enjoyable and absorbing. "Kingdom of Fools" has a crushing opening riff and very effective layered guitar constructions; it is a true stand out track. "Truth Be Known" has some of the more striking chord progressions and one the best manipulations of the fade-out technique I have ever heard. There is great sample usage on "Cursed", although the actual melodic introductory passage borrows heavily from Slayer. This album is not only worthy of multiple listens; it is worth your money. It maintains the same mood throughout ten tracks and only seems to get better. This metal never seems to plod away or become pedestrian, even over ten proper tracks. Give _Eye for an Eye_ your attention, and then give Daemon your cash so they can make another one like this.

(article published 1/9/2002)

ALBUMS
2/13/1999	P Schwarz	8	Daemon - The Second Coming