Time Signature Ritual burning...

Genre: black thrash

The demo tape format seems to be having a renaissance these days, and the Norwegian thrashers with the disturbing name Infant Death are among the underground artists to make use of this format with their 2013-demo (which can also be acquired in digital format, I should point out).

Stylistically, Infant Death explore the rawer and more primitive landscapes of black metal without their music being too simplistic. Definitely aggressive and driven by primal anger, the tracks nonetheless are characterized by several bursts of finesse, a couple of parts even being kind of technical (such as the quirky opening of 'Slave to the Grave'. The dissonant chords in 'Death Throat' even reach near-Voivod dimensions.

Still, the crunchy production and the many fast-paced beats - some of which almost qualify as blastbeats - make the music seem very frenzied. The chaotic guitar solos and the hysterical vocals further contribute to this sense of chaos. I am sure this is a 100% deliberate move by the Norwegians, and it definitely does not detract from the experience of listening to this demo. On the contrary.

Infant Death's demo is an explosion of underground evil and should appeal to any fan of fast-paced in-yer-face black thrash.