EP REVIEW: Cruel Master – Demo IV

Here I review a demo tape that made an unexpected arrival at my house but I really enjoyed. Below is my review of this demo from Cruel Master, which is their 4th.

1. No Consent fires in with noisy whammy attack, grisly guitars, hideously harsh screams and drums that batter you. The morbid and menacing assaults of Black Metal are absolutely glorious and filled with hatred. The intensity of this opening song remains true to the rest of the demo and is certainly a great way to get people involved or push those who cannot handle it away. This track was equally unsettling as it was blistering intense. Fantastic!
2. Damaged Goods follows with feedback and bass the immediately grinds out catchy, jumping and pretty fun riffs. The upbeat groove of the track is loveable from the start with its old school euphoria that applies. The howled/screamed vocals sound superb and filled with aggression, perfectly tailored to the song. Another brilliant track!
3. Humanity 86’d blasts out more hellish noise in the form of Black Metal, hideous vocals obliterate while crawling guitars hit incredibly hard whilst being backed up by simplistically charged drums. Everything is full of life and disgustingly grim in sound, which is totally awesome. The flow of the tracks is completely fluid and really strong, allowing simpler songwriting and musicianship to still create something totally killer.
4. Leech barrages us with more assaulting instrumentals and demonic vocals. With some harshly monstrous riffs, blasting drums and grisly vocals this track feels like a piece of music torn right out of the 90s. Truly magnificent Black Metal with plenty of raw aggression and a sound to match the mood. This is sure to make you want to go crazy. Excellent song.
5. Rotten Hole fires in with more upbeat attacks. The awesomely raw and grinding nature of the music is unsettling yet also makes you want to headbang along as if it is familiar. This is some truly awesome Black Metal, packing plenty of punch into shorter tracks like this which also remain incredibly catchy. Great work!
6. Satan’s Den has the task of ending this relatively short demo, but it does so with a well-maintained level of aggression. It is also the longest song, with a running time still short of 4 minutes, I think the artist is clear that they want to get in, do their thing and get out rather than stagnate, which I respect. This final track offers us more atmospheric grooves and fantastic riffing over continually pounding drums and topped off with hideously howled vocals. All of the tracks have stayed true to sound and worked really well together and this is no exception. A final bout of hateful Black Metal that is packed with energy. Absolutely awesome!

This demo is insanely catchy, upbeat and just superbly driven with its menacing feel. I am really glad whoever sent me this did so and I totally recommend it to fans of old school Norwegian Black Metal, especially the more groove laden bands like Carpathian Forest! -8.5/10