UMUR
"Remains" is the first demo recording by Norwegian death metal act Atrox. The demo was independently released in August 1994. "Remains" is the sole release from Atrox, which should not be confused with the more prolific Norwegian goth/doom/progressive metal band also called Atrox. The two bands are not related in any way.
Stylistically the material on the 5 tracks, 14:31 minutes long demo is a bit all over the place. From melodic death-doom, to spoken word gothic metal sections, to brutal death metal (even deathgrind blasting), and even the odd technical/progressive death metal moment. These guys obviously tried to put all their influences into their own songs, but it honestly makes for a confusing listen. The tracks are unpredictable and often include sections which don´t fit the rest of the music.
The band are relatively accomplished playing their instruments but the demo features a thin and not very well sounding demo quality sound production, which does nothing good for the music. If anything the production values further emphasize the feeling that these guys probably recorded this demo down at the local youth club or at their own rehearsal space. I usually have great respect for musicians toying with unconventional songwriting ideas and song structures, but here it hurts the quality of the product. Upon conclusion "Remains" is a pretty poor quality death metal demo and a 1.5 (30%) rating isn´t all wrong.
