Demonoir Makes Its Case

Because I know you were concerned: Demonoir has proven to the pleasant experience I had been hoping for. If I were to summarize in a sentence: what I wrote about "Atomic Chamber" being a mix of "plenty of pounding...some (slightly) more atmospheric stuff, and...a decent amount of structure that keeps a six minute song sounding like a six minute song and not an endless assault" turns out to be Demonoir in microcosm. Each true (or tr00?) song is bookended by a minute or so of atmospherics, titled in a numerically-ascending sequence as a progression along the tunnel of Set (maybe this Set?), which makes the songs feel like a brutal set of way stations. The effect is similar to that used by Teitanblood used on Seven Chalices.

Those songs in turn are distinct enough that I'm starting to remember portions between listens, which is probably about as catchy as a black metal album can get without crossing over into that tricky melodic territory. Most of them even have a personality that's more black metal standard, too - which might be why they're starting to stick. "Psalm 777," for example, cribs some Ride the Lightning-era Metallica in both riffs and solos, which certainly catches the ear. A few listens in and I'm already pretty close to calling Demonoir my favorite 1349 release.