With the release of their fourth full-length, Demon Head has gone from a particularly rustic Occult Doom band to full-on Goth Rock with a few sparse Doom elements. Glossy guitars and Robert Smith-esque vocals among other elements became prominent with 2019’s Hellfire Ocean Void and Viscera (Metal Blade Records) pushes them to an even further extent. But while this album should feel like the culmination of a well-realized evolution, the results are those of an unfortunately awkward misstep.
Right off the bat, Viscera offers a more theatrical interpretation of the Gothic style compared to its predecessor. While the last album mixed some driving numbers in with the atmospheric tunes, the latter takes much greater priority this time around. Tracks like ‘The Feline Smile’ and ‘Black Torches’ present their brooding with a rather ceremonial air. Aside from the upbeat ‘In Adamantine Chains,’ the songs stick to slow-burn tempos with occasional climactic speedups. There’s also a greater emphasis on interludes than before, which makes the experience feel more elaborate than its thirty-six-minute runtime would suggest.
These elements are perfectly fine in themselves, but the pacing is what cripples the experience. The production might be a little too thick for what the band was going for, often burying the already experimental drum beats in the mix and making the instrumentation and melodies tricky to decipher. It doesn’t help that the actual writing isn’t particularly memorable either with most of the songs sounding interchangeable with the structures coming off as feeling directionless at times.
Viscera isn’t necessarily a bad album but its execution undercuts what could’ve been an otherwise interesting development. The setup is certainly intriguing with some neat flourishes in the musicianship, but the tracks often lose their momentum and make the album feel overstuffed despite it being their shortest to date. Perhaps a reordered tracklisting would’ve made for a better flowing album, but another upbeat track or two might’ve been the best way to go.
There are a ton of Metal bands on the Gothic bandwagon these days and it’s a shame that Demon Head isn’t among the best of them. There’s still hope for them to pick up from here, but Hellfire Ocean Void remains their most successful stab at the style.
Purchase the album here: https://www.metalblade.com/demonhead/
6 / 10
CHRIS LATTA