22nd December 2023

Review: “Diabolica Blasphemiae” by Demoncy

One of the oldest Black Metal outfits in the history of the genre in the US, the thirty four long year reign of terror that Demoncy began in 1989 has continued in eerie silence over the eleven years since their last confession in 2012’s “Enthroned Is the Night”. How long they have been working in the background remains a mystery but to release an album in “Black Star Gnosis” via Dark Descent Records and then follow it up with an EP in “Diabolica Blasphemiae” just fifteen days later seems a little strange. For this, the second of those records, mastermind, bassist and vocalist Ixithra is joined by guitarist VJS (Adaestuo, Nightbringer, Sargeist) and drummer Vorthrus (Cerebral Rot, Hexenslaught, Crurifragium), although all three are multi-instrumentalists in their own right…

The sound of a murder of crows against as the call to prayer rings out in introduction piece “Satanas Vult” sets an eerie and ethereal tone, as if inviting the discerning listener to their own funeral. It’s the kind of atmospheric that you might expect from a low budget horror movie and works well before the rumbling bass and rasping vocals of the title track “Diabolica Blasphemiae” bring the record to life from beyond the grave. Ixithra is one of the most recognisable vocalists around, his caustic battery acid nausea inducing tones often no more than a harsh whisper and yet they send a chill down the spine as if the grim reaper himself is at ones shoulder. The cut itself is a genre tour de force of restless and relentless kit work and sweeping guitars, the drums sounding like they’ve been recorded in a primitive old school fashion to get the desired sound. “Sepulcrum Spectra” continues down the left hand path with growing sinister undertones, the churning riffs growing in stature as the basement torture chamber hell can no longer contain the beasts within. Another dungeon crawl elevated with dark power and some interesting intricacies, it has the power to captivate and convert those yet to be indoctrinated. A medieval doom machine about an evil wrong doing of the flesh, “Malum Incarnatus Est” lurks in the darkness like Gollum waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting victim and grows ever more powerful as it plays out. Resistance is utterly futile as jackhammer footwork from Vorthrus crushes the skull with consummate ease in the final moments, the demonic call from the abyss too inviting to ignore. “Consummatum Est” (or “It is finished“) continues from where “Satanas Vult” ended, ethereal sounds against a backdrop of falling rain, a fitting conclusion to a collection of three songs of pure evil. Could it be that “Black Star Gnosis” is a shelved album from a few years back and “Diabolica Blasphemiae” is a fresh recording? It certainly sounds that way… [7.5/10]

Track Listing