ReviewDemonic Resurrection is the best-known metal band out of India, having been featured on the documentary Global Metal. Since I didn't have any tacks pushed into my metal map in India, I decided to pick up their third full-length, The Return to Darkness.
The songs are also a mixed bag. I feel like I've heard basically every song on this album a few times before, performed better or worse by a number of other bands. A handful of these offerings are strong enough to be memorable, like "Where Dreams and Darkness Unite" or "Bound by Blood, Fire and Stone". But others, like "The Unrelenting Surge of Vengeance", are unrelentingly boring. The problem seems to be that they're afraid to break the rules, and when they do manage to step outside the box, like the death ballad (that's what I'm calling it) "A Tragedy Befallen", it doesn't work. And the longest track on the album ("Lord of Pestilence") is disjointed and awful.
The Verdict: Demonic Resurrection seem like they simply have no songwriting instincts. When they paint by numbers, they do an admirable job, but when they try to do something different they screw it up. It's not bad, and not good. But it is highly accessible, so if you don't like it, give it away to your friend who's just "kind of" into metal. You know, the one who likes metal because it's cool, but most of it scares him. He'll think it's pretty "hardcore". I give it 3 out of 5 stars.