THE FOUR INSTRUCTIVE TALES... OF DECOMPOSITION

"The Four Instructive Tales ...of Decomposition" is the second demo recording by Finnish death metal act Demilich. The demo was independently released in July 1991, only a few months after the release of the one-track demo "Regurgitation Of Blood" from April 1991.

Although "Regurgitation Of Blood" was a demo which was recorded at a studio, the sound production values were lo-fi and the the demo sounded murky and savage. Compared to that "The Four Instructive Tales ...of Decomposition" features a much clearer, defined, and detailed sound production. It may be lacking a bit of heavy bottom and the croaky burbing growling vocals are placed slightly too high in the mix, but other than that the sound production is an asset, and it perfectly shows how much Demilich have grown in just a few months as musicians and songwriters. I still hear a lot of Carcass influences on the demo and in the slower parts a Bolt Thrower influence is also heard (just listen to the opening of "And The Slimy Flying Creatures Reproduce In Your Brains"), but Demilich are arguably on their way to sounding more unique.

The full transition wouldn´t come until the next demo, but that doesn´t mean "The Four Instructive Tales ...of Decomposition" isn´t a quality early 90s death metal demo, because it certainly is. Out of the many intriguing and quite original sounding Finnish death metal acts from the scene Demilich always stood out as the most unique and already on this demo that uniqueness is heard. Maybe in smaller doses than on the next two demos, but the almost laid-back heavy grooves and twisted harmonies (and the strange vocals) are already part of the soundscape on "The Four Instructive Tales ...of Decomposition". A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

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