Tracks 1 and 8 are instrumental.
Demiurg's 'From the Throne of Darkness' is a demonstration in textbook level black metal taken up a single notch. While lacking in originality and a variation in substance, it ultimately utilizes dynamics in the forms of atmospheric breaks, swelling and acute keyboard arrangements and a general up-tempo pace to keep things progressing in a linear, yet interesting course, while never really losing a sense of purpose and appeal. All of this in consideration, we have the common framework for your typical angry, cold black metal album.
So, what exactly is there in 'From the Throne of Darkness' that sets itself away from the hordes of bands that are common for this style of music? Even with the aforementioned, it comes to differing very little from everybody else.
Most of the actual songs start off, run and end following the same formula: A simple churning riff that ebbs and flows with slight variation to add a sense of musical uneasiness to the atmosphere, supported by either a singular, minimal keyboard passage to bulk up the guitar, or a series of well-sculpted keyboard melodies that, in certain situations, really performs it's fair share of tonal shaping to really give some of these tracks a necessary kick in the ass to get them off of the ground. The backbone of these tracks is the support of programmed drums, made incredibly obvious by the mix job, that stick to their tried and true guns; either a blast-beat moving in a moderate or fast pace, or a simple double-bass line, with very little variations in between so don't expect any type of technicality or even the presence of some form of fill to mix things up a bit. The vocals are delivered in bouts of ragged, saliva-spewing shouts that are absent of any real form of emotion other then anger. The vocals do not change at all, not even once, during the course of 'From the Throne of Darkness', which leads much to be desired from in this department by the time the album is finished.
What saves these songs is, believe it or not, length, minor changes through the tracks and consistency. The album is lined with instrumentals at the beginning, middle and end of the album to keep the album running in a non restricting manner. Simple changes, as in the change of the drum pattern in the second track 'Baptism in Fire' or 'Ancient Constellations’ sudden break from a two chord riff into a melodic single-note lead, gives back just enough to the listener as to prevent the 'advance track' button from being pushed. These types of changes; sudden sharp changes in guitar playing, the addition of another layer of synth, or a rhythm change in the percussion, are all present at least once in each song which barely saves it from repetitive, self-defeating suicide.
The production is average. While being clear, and more then audible, there is a disappointing lack of low-end chuck (part of this has to do with the complete absence of a bass player), and a stranglehold placed on the highs, so a majority of the song is a donnybrook occupying the middle which causes some collision when some of these tracks are going full-swing. The guitars are a little low in the mix, which isn't detracting too much since the riffs are all on such a simple level that an intermediate guitarist could pick them apart like desert carrion, but it gives the vocals plenty of room to breathe, which equates to a somewhat worthy tradeoff. As previously stated, the drums are obviously programmed, but are also pushed towards the front of the mix with the synth sitting somewhere between the guitars and vocals.
Overall, Demiurg's 'From the Throne of Darkness' is your average raw black metal album, falling into the category of a disc you'll probably listen to once and set aside for a few months, only to be dusted off on a rainy day. Its lack of anything new or interesting to add to the fold is what ultimately hurts it, despite it's moments of subtle change which only adds little to the return value. While this album as a whole is not worth simply overlooking, because it's actually pretty good, I certainly wouldn't label it as a 'must have' or a 'can not do without', it's worth a poke from the curious and is a worthy competitor in the field of Polish black metal in terms of an initial, debut full-lengths. It's going to leave things desired for at the end, and most well-grounded listeners are going to immediately realize half-way through the disc that more could be added to these songs to really give them strength. Not terrible, but not good. Not particularly interesting, but not boring. All in all: Average.
Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
