Take notice, thrashers, black metal devotees and Satanic freaks: Demiser‘s Through the Gate Eternal is one of the best albums of its kind in a long time. The black-thrash group hails from various parts of South Carolina, the members taking on pseudonyms like Demiser the Demiser, Gravepisser and Phallomancer while immersing themselves deep in the study and worship of Venom, Bathory, Slayer and Motörhead, plus modern peers like Toxic Holocaust, Hellripper and Midnight.
The album starts off strong with its title track, which starts off with some spooky ambience and dives into a half hour of straight riffs from there. Guitarists Gravepisser and Phallomancer are the star players on Through the Gate Eternal—the amount of good-to-great riffs that the duo play on the album is impressive on its own, not to mention the solos; each song has its own identity and influences, taking inspiration from sleazy rock ‘n’ roll and galloping heavy metal as much as the first and second waves of black metal.
Songs like “Deathstrike,” “Hook and Torment” and “Warfuck Demon Lust” all move at the speed of Satan, but they don’t blend together. Demiser earned their initial notice via extensive touring and dedication to a memorable live show, which shows on the record; these songs are finely tuned and dead space is nonexistent, the band using every second of the album’s 35-minute runtime.
Through the Gate Eternal is pure heavy metal: fast as fuck, evil as hell and catchy to boot. It’s out on March 12 via Boris Records, but the full release is available to listen to below.
