Like a lumbering, ferocious beast awoken from a centuries-long slumber, the metal behemoth known as Demiser emerged from the primordial ooze of the South Carolina metal scene in 2017.
After several years working toward a sonic apocalypse and intent on causing untold havoc, Demiser is releasing its sophomore studio album and Black Light Media/Metal Blade Records debut, “Slave to the Scythe”, on August 23rd, 2024.
The nine-song LP is a devastatingly intense slab of work; an aural harbinger of hellish intent that sees the band blend ‘80s thrash, first-wave black metal, death metal, and a healthy dose of NWOBHM. “Slave to the Scythe” is the work of a band of men determined to destroy everything in their path. Musically, of course.
The Demiser collective features Demiser The Demiser (occult liturgic blasphemy), Gravepisser (six-stringed Satanic fukklord), Phallomancer (abysmal rhythm of death), Defiler (dismal baritone curator), and Infestor (purveyor of percussive bile) and they are not here to fuck around. Press reports note that Demiser is the perfect choice for when you’re, “in the mood for some dirty blackened thrash long on fun and short on pretense”.
“Slave to the Scythe” was recorded in the summer of 2023 with Chase McGuckin at Seaboard Recording Studio in West Columbia, South Carolina. “We record one at a time with scratch tracks and clicks and all. We recorded with minimal AC so it was hot as fucking shit”. The band sees “Slave to the Scythe” as the perfect follow-up to “Through the Gate Eternal”. “We feel like it’s a continuation of our first album and upholds the same ripping sound”, they say.
Demiser will be releasing three singles from the new opus, beginning with the face-ripping “Infernal Bust” – a sort of Rosemary’s Baby for a gore-loving audience that includes the lyrics, “Rot your womb, spread the seed that Satan seeps; Flesh grows pale, fruit of man wilts”.
The band comments: “We wrote the music for this one in a single practice, it came together pretty quickly. Then Demiser The Demiser’s dumb ass decided to call it ‘Whores and Fire’ and we told him to shut the fuck up and call it something cooler. We still failed. The lyrics are about the downfall of man through a really evil cumshot”.
“I really wanted a swingy song to explore some triplet fills and had the most fun writing this one for sure”, elaborates Infestor. “When we play it live I improvise half the fills just to keep it fun and fresh”.
Watch the official video for “Infernal Bust” below.
“Slave to the Scythe” will be available CD and digital formats as well as vinyl in “Carbureted Fire”.
Pre-order “Slave to the Scythe” here.
Tracklist:
1. Feast
2. Slave to the Scythe
3. Carbureted Speed
4. Phallomancer the Phallomancer
5. Interlude
6. Total Demise
7. Hell is Full of Fire
8. Infernal Bust
9. In Nomine Baphomet
For the uninitiated, Demiser formed with the mission of “getting big enough to get a free bar tab”, they say, with no trace of irony. The five men want to drink and play brutally heavy music. They describe the Demiser sound as, “Fast-ripping black thrash with some dirty rock ‘n’ roll influence at times. As we’ve continued writing, we’ve come more into what Demiser’s sound is rather than setting out to sound like a specific genre”.
The band’s influences include the likes of Venom, Bathory, Slayer, Motörhead, and Destroyer 666, plus movies like Terminator 2, Commando, and Predator (“pretty much anything Schwarzenegger really”). The overarching themes on “Slave to the Scythe” are essentially “hell, fire, and hellfire”. There are no ballads, no love songs – this is devilish music for devilish people that was largely written on the road.
Decibel has raved about Demiser, “All the aggression and speed of black-thrash with heavy metal melodies, Demiser takes the best of both worlds”. Memorable, evil and impossible to deny, “Slave to the Scythe” represents the sound of a band on the rise, momentum firmly in their favor, waving the metal flag with pride and fury. Consider yourself warned.
Line-up:
Defiler – Bass
Demiser The Demiser – Vocals
Infestor – Drums
Gravepisser – Guitars
Phalomancer – Guitars
Weblinks:
www.facebook.com/demiserofficial
www.instagram.com/demiserofficial
