THE FOUR INSTRUCTIVE TALES... OF DECOMPOSITION

THE FOUR INSTRUCTIVE TALES... OF DECOMPOSITION was the second demo EP released by tech death metal band DEMILICH in 1991 and pretty much continues from the first EP "Regurgitation Of Blood." While Antti Boman's trademark hellish gurgled vocals in the vocal fry range are prevalent, the musicianship is still not up to par as to what the band would conjure up on "Nespithe" however it has taken a few steps in that direction. Firstly Mikko Virnes' drumming patterns have become more complex and are beginning to lead the way in the unique angular rhythms the band has become famous for. The titles are becoming more outlandish and despite being clearly Carcass inspired have taken the whole gorefest approach to a new level by adding alien twists and turns to the whole thing. Just check out "And The Slimy Flying Creatures Reproduce In Your Brains!" The guitars and bass, however, are still basic old school death metal with Bolt Thrower being the band that sounds most similar to my ears. The music continues to conjure up shock and awe with an immense appetite for the most macabre, hideous and funereal subject matter the human mind can conceive. I love it! No need to hunt this down as it was released in cassette form only and probably impossible to find in that format. Instead find this on the digitally remastered compilation "20th Adversary Of Emptiness" which includes every single thing the band ever recorded. 3.5 rounded down

"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).