Mammon- Demiurge

Mammon is a sludgy metal band from Canberra, Australia. When thinking of Australia slow, sludged out metal isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind. Thankfully Mammon pull out all the stops in making this three track machine destroy as much as humanly possible. Prepare yourself for twenty minutes of home grown goodness.

The album opens with a clip of a man saying "I am a false prophet, God is a superstition" over and over again until the heavily distorted guitar creeps in and steals the show. The album consists of three tracks, simply titled I,II,III. These three tracks, when combined, come to a total of twenty minutes. During this twenty minutes Mammon made damn sure that they packed in some of the most harsh, angry, and epic music known to man. The riffs featured on the album are certainly a highlight. For the most part the guitar playing has a strong southern feel to it. In a few aspects it is reminiscent of Church Of Misery. Some people may be turned off by a sloppy note or two featured on the record but it really just adds to the natural feel in the end.

Though for a good portion of the record Mammon like to take it slow they still pack one hell of a punch. The intensity in some sections of these three tracks are off the charts. That being said there are some calm moments on the record but they don't stick around too long. The slow building section in "III" is surprisingly relaxing even with all the barbaric shrieks and shouts. That is what makes this release so excellent. Mammon never sacrifices one aspect of the music in order to fuel another. The album may be intense but they refuse to dumb down the writing just to sound heavy.

The vocals on the album consist of a wide variety of styles. Everything from growls, hardcore yells, and shrieks can be heard throughout the short runtime of Demiurge. The wide variety of vocals keep the listening experience fresh. Another thing that makes this aspect so enjoyable is the fact that these angry cries are convincing. So many bands just yell for the sake of being extreme but come out sounding uninspired, that is not the case here. I'm not going to act like I know the guy personally but based on this album I think it is safe to say that he was very pissed when recording this.

Overall Demiurge is definitely not a release that should be ignored. Mammon play a style of their own and can hold a listener's attention like no other. The band is versatile enough to appeal to a wide spectrum of metal and hardcore fans. So those of you in search of new music in the vein of Cower, Church Of Misery, or Bongzilla Mammon is without a doubt worth a look. If they ever decide to release a full-length big things could happen. The potential shown here is gigantic.

Email mammonband@hotmail.com with your address to get the demo delivered to you!