Demon Eye’s Termpora Infernalia is, unfortunately, an album of diminishing
returns; starting with such energy and enthusiasm, it’s easy to get swept away
in the fervour and the authenticity of their sound (which has been refined
during their other gig as heavy-rock tribute act Corvette Summer). Bill Eagen’s
drumming swings like Bill Ward, and lead man Erik Sugg has clearly studied the
clipped vocal stylings of Ozzy, however by the midway point the Raleigh band’s
lack of new ideas or willingness to infuse a hint of their own personalities
into their music begins to grate. Ironically enough for such a hard-rocking
bunch, the most compelling moments come when the band either slows down, as on
‘Poison Garden’, or put down the electric guitars completely on the
contemplative ‘Please, Father.’ Termpora
Infernalia is solid – of course it is, it was built on the foundations laid
down by Black Sabbath and Pentagram – but unfortunately it
doesn’t bring anything new to the table. In an increasingly busy crowd of retro
doomsters, you can do far better than this.
[Originally published in Iron Fist Magazine, Issue 15 August/September 2015]
No comments:
Post a Comment