UMUR
"Unholy Crusade" is the fourth demo recording by Swedish death metal act Sorcery. The demo was independently released in August 1989. It´s the successor to the early 1988 "Ancient Creation" demo, although Sorcery did record a rehearsal demo in January 1989 which was released under the Sorcery's Malediction moniker. The Sorcery's Malediction rehearsal demo is not a widespread demo recording and very hard to find, but some of the tracks are included on the 2011 "Unholy Creations" compilation album, along with all the material from this demo.
Sorcery formed in 1986 and released several seminal Swedish death metal demos (including the rehearsal demo under the Sorcery's Malediction monicker) before being picked up by Underground Records for the release of their debut full-length studio album "Bloodchilling Tales" (August 1991). Sorcery subsequently put out the 1992 "Maculated" demo but eventually disbanding in 1997 without any further releases under their belts.
Stylistically "Unholy Crusade" shows a more mature Sorcery compared to the relentlessly fast-paced and fiercely aggressive material featured on the "Ancient Creation" demo. A less technically accomplished Morbid Angel isn´t the worst description. This is blackened death/thrash metal with both fast-paced and mid-paced heavy parts. The vocals are blackened snarling and if you´re only familiar with Sorcery through "Bloodchilling Tales" this sounds quite different from that album, and the two releases even share several tracks. Those tracks just sound vastly different in the subsequent studio album versions.
"Unholy Crusade" features a well sounding demo quality production job, and it´s overall a good quality demo recording from Sorcery. They have obviously honed their playing skills, their songwriting, and had access to a better recording facility and it pays dividends. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.
