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Promising first release - 68%

Maarghul, August 1st, 2013

Based in Tasmania, Australia, Infernal Outcry are an interesting and often dynamic band, and are part of an ever growing and strong group of technical death metal bands from the area. After roughly 2 years of existence, March 2013 saw their first official recording released. A 3 track demo, clocking in at just under 20 minutes, the band showcases some quality playing abilities and influences throughout all 3 tracks.

I’ll start with the riffs and guitar work; The riffs seem very influenced by Death, Necrophagist and bands of that ilk, whilst often harking back to a more technical thrash based sound, and then there are moments of pure groove that often lean towards quite melodic structures. The players handle the material soundly, and are obviously quite competent players, and don’t try to play anything outside of their abilities, which can often occur with tech styled bands. The bass work on the album is very tight, and appropriate. It fits perfectly with the music, and despite not doing any overtly flashy, there are times when it adds a little extra spice that a section calls out for.

The vocals are very suitable for the style, and the main growled approach utilized sounds fairly influenced by Chuck Schuldiner, but there’s also quite a coarse scream regularly employed that breaks things up and makes the vox even more interesting. There’s also a couple of clean sections on the album, which are fairly good, and work, mostly, but do change the vibe of first song, and make it seem almost a little “mainstream metal”, but this isn't a big issue. The drumming is really only worth mentioning on track 2, as tracks 1 and 3 seem to be a drum machine. The drumming is appropriate, and it sounds like the performer has some solid abilities, but there’s nothing over the top or flashy to write home about. The drum programming on tracks 1 and 3 is actually quite good, and also very fitting for the music, but at times bugs me a bit, as real drums would really compliment things so much better.

There’s no real artwork to speak of, but the overall packaging, presentation and quality of the demo is decent. The production is actually quite good for a demo, everything is quite audible, and you get a good feel for the band via the sound of the product. It does sound a little digital at times, but this is easily tolerated, as it’s not in an obnoxious way. In conclusion, I would have to say this is a very promising debut release, and the band, if they stick to their guns, will have a bright future.