New release from Demonic Manifestation.
With their third album, Grimshrine, the Mexican band led by Victor Mercado (guitar/vocals, Altumtenebris, Ravenous Death, Silent Tombs), Enrique Martínez (guitar/bass, Altumtenebris, Noxifer, Macabre Goats, Ravenous Death, Silent Tombs), and Felipe González (drums, Altumtenebris, Macabre Goat, Silent Tombs) officially announces its return as well as its partnership with Personal Records.
The band kicks off at a brisk pace with its first track, Cult Of Dominion, which features a sound that’s certainly thick and abrasive, but above all quite catchy, before an effective acceleration that also incorporates growls, making the mix quite macabre despite its obvious violence. While the rhythm section slows down briefly, it picks up again almost immediately, letting us bang our heads once more before racing into Ninth Flame Oath, the next track, which spares no effort or blast beats to deliver a powerful punch and reinforce that sense of oppression. The first solo is slower but also more chaotic, allowing for a strong return to the old-school sound for the second one before continuing the ride toward Kuru: The Laughing Death March, which in turn gets off to an excellent start and even offers us a few Melodic Death Metal twists while maintaining its punch as the vocalist lets loose. Back to the anxiety-inducing atmosphere on The Horror, the next track, which once again draws on a heavy, slow pace but doesn’t hesitate to throw in some effective bursts of speed before brutally hitting us with Spheres Of Death and its jerky rhythm, while the harmonics add that trippy touch. There’s a touch of technicality in certain passages, just as there is on Host, which follows suit and in turn offers a fairly energetic sound made up of bursts of violence, but also a more mystical and soothing break that colors the rest of the track. The band picks up the pace a bit more with Terror Cosmic Gates and its impressive cavernous tones that reinforce the ferocious riffs, then with Phantasma, which also summons occult forces to darken the death metal, making even the solos hellish and dissonant. Unsurprisingly, the closing track, The Evil Lurks, stays true to this dark yet instantly catchy vibe, where the jagged riffs hit the mark almost constantly, only subsiding during the lingering harmonics, skillfully bringing the album to a close.
Drawing occasionally from Black and Doom Metal here and there, Demonic Manifestation has crafted a solid and catchy Death Metal album that commands respect. Grimshrine hasn’t reinvented the wheel, but they’ve taken it to the next level, delivering a thick sound that openly invites you to bang your head.
85/100