Demonic Resurrection is a four-piece doom/black outfit from Mumbai who are among the forerunners in the revival of the Indian metal scene with bands coming up with local recordings and demos. Demonic consists of Demonstealer {sahil} on guitars and vocals, Count Varathora on the bass, Yash slamming the skins and Nikita with the background singing and keyboards. The band released this album late last year with the help of good friend Ashish from Abhor {death metal band} lending in on lead guitars. It was completely recorded at home without a studio, which I feel, posed quite a few problems for the band. The album titled "Demonstealer" too has a totally unimpressive cover {pathetic reely!} but like the saying goes ‘never judge a book by its cover’! The album has a totally new and refreshing sound to it and right from the first song "My World of Sadness" the band is all out to impress. This opener has an absolutely killer riff with some awesome double bass pounding accompanied by Sahil’s alternating shrieks and gruffy growls which will get you into a headbanging frenzy. Add to add icing to the cake is Nikita’s painful and hypnotic singing. The solo comes as a disappointment as its really too shrill and slow sounding out of tune for this song, and could’ve been done a zillion times better. Drumming is really out of this world, literally too, as due to Yash’s unavailability the band had to make do with Sahil’s computer taking a leaf out of Mindsnare’s book {KP Krishnamoorthy}. And for their live shows henceforth their slammer has his work really cut out and if he’s able to reproduce it live then he’ll in any metallers book be the most proficient drummer in Mumbai. Next track "From the Ashes", probably the best track on the album is a proper black metal composition [not as the last one which gets slower in the middle] with the typical blast beats omnipresent and doesn’t let you rest your neck even for a milli-second. A prominent Dimmu Borgir influence on that one I felt but as previously said the solo needs to be worked here too. "Darkened Moon" is a good thrash song with a very prominent Metallica/M’deth stamp which shouldn’t surprise some ‘cos Demonic never claims to be an out-and-out black outfit. Following soon in succession is the doomy "My Misery" with a more psychedelic feel to it with a slow, writhing riff and sorrowful keyboards. Sahil sounds so sane here, its actually funny – but my personal opinion is that the growls suit him best and would have added extra effect with the slow instrumentation on this one. "Crestfallen", another doom composition has a unique blend of melody and sonic heaviness, and the name ‘Theater of Tragedy’ immediately springs to mind, and on listening you’ll know why. Anyway, Nikita’s operatic singing really makes the solid foundation for this one and Sahil’s voice contrasts like the devil compared to her making this another amazing track. Another nice thing is that solo for a change sounds goodish on the song. Next "The Sadness still Remains" is another nice melodic, doomy song but the band really let the computer take control with non-stop double bass pounding. Sahil, sounding completely different again tries to sing melodically which he shouldn’t by all means ‘cos he not good at it. I can’t understand why the band included the last track on the CD – an acoustic version of the awesome album opener but this is one-tenth of what that was. It sounds like a senti-pop track and the total metal feel is gone for a toss. It’s a very big mistake by the band as it leaves a sour taste in your mouth before the CD shuts down. And to top things its not acoustic all the way as the electric guitar kicks in for a while. It sucks to say the least!! Overall the album is a very bold step by the band in such a conducive musical environment but should have been more polished before they recorded I felt. The solos are totally bad and really jab you saying, ‘I don’t belong here’ and the guitar sound lacks the extra crunch which most Indian bands lack – dunno why? A little practice is what’s required and reworking/shortening of some songs as they seem to drag on for eternity and I’m sure these guys will be superstars. Best of luck on your task ahead Demonic! UP THE IRONS!