The first thing I noticed when listening to Demagogue’s EP, Nihil Obstat, was that in no way is this a throwback band. The riffs all scream thrash ala Testament and Death Angel but the vocals sound too death for my taste. Don’t get me wrong. I love me some death, but I am not exactly creaming my jeans over here at the prospect of hybrid metal. I took another look at one of the pictures on the band’s website and found that one of the dudes was wearing a Mayhem shirt, and I immediately understood where the influence for the vocals was coming from. Not a bad place to look for influence, but if you’re playing thrash, shouldn’t you be looking to Hetfield or Billy for influence?

Some moments on this EP are absolutely beautiful. The first 30 seconds to the third track, “Broken Father,” are a prime example. For half a minute there I thought I was listening to a hidden bonus track off of Ride the Lightning, but damn it if the cookie monster vocals didn’t ruin all of that potential. One thing that I’ll never understand is how bands can pick a vocal style that in no way fits the instrumentals. If there were some blast beats anywhere in here I might feel as if the group were justified, but hearing primal screaming over thrash riffs makes me absolutely mad. Do your music justice.

Half of the tracks on this four song EP sound epic in scale due to what appears to be an acoustic opening. There’s a diversity in talent that the band shows that impresses, and I think that shows on tracks such as “Contemplation to Despair.” Being able to make such a quick transition from progressive to thrash and death-vocal laced thrash takes some very big balls, but I think sometimes the band comes off as a bit too cocky (no pun intended), sounding a bit frantic, as if they couldn’t pick a sound amongst themselves and stick with it.

written by Chris Chellis

Playing time: 20.00