THE RETURN TO DARKNESS

The music on the album is symphonic, synth heavy and at times progressive death metal. The vocals vary between deep growls, higher pitched raspy type vocals (which at times provide the music with a blackened touch) and very well performed clean male vocals. The synth heavy nature of the music leads my thoughts toward Dimmu Borgir, but overall I think Demonic Resurrection are more "death" than "black". The quality of the material on The Return to Darkness is very high and after my first couple of listens, where I was a bit intimidated by what I felt was a lack of subtlety, I began to discover the many details and hooks on the album, that ultimately earn Demonic Resurrection the right not to be subtle. The tracks on the album feature a plethora of melodic guitar leads that colour the album and keep the tracks interesting throughout, but I can also mention the varied vocals, the professional and powerful sound production (yes it´s polished, but the sound suits the music well) and the generally excellent musicianship as some of the assets on the album. It´s obvious that we´re dealing with top professional musicians and composers here. The tracks go through several transitions and are very cleverly composed. Take a listen to the 11:28 minute long "Lord of Pestilence" to hear how great the band are at writing adventurous tunes. All tracks are full of creative energy and memorable moments though, so take your pick.

"The Return to Darkness" has been a very positive listening experience. It´s not an album that got me instantly hooked, but detailed albums seldom do. They often require many spins to sink in. Symphonic death, or black metal for that matter, often have a tendency to be a bit overblown as a result of the bombastic nature of the music and the lack of dynamics, but after investigating "The Return to Darkness" a bit deeper I´ve found that the album has more layers, or in other words tricks up its sleeve, than what I heard on initial listens. The more I listen the more I hear recognisable parts and discover semi-progressive ideas, that I missed the first couple of times around. For fans of symphonic blackened death metal with a progressive edge, I find "The Return to Darkness" highly recommendable and a 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

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