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DEMONOID 'Riders Of The Apocalypse' Nuclear Blast (2004)
Could someone please explain me what’s going on with Christofer Johnsson and the rest of the Therion militia? It is beyond any human understanding how both him and the Niemann brothers (Kristian: guitars, Johan: bass) have managed to create another studio album shortly after the release of the amazing double effort "Lemuria" and "Sirius B".
I don’t want it to sound as if I’m complaining - not at all, but we need to set things straight before you start jumping to conclusions.
First of all what we have here is the debut album of a project called Demonoid. This project is the brainchild of Kristian Niemann (guitars), and the musical direction that this quartet has chosen to follow has little to do with the amazing Therion. Yes, it’s true that the line up consists of half the members of that band, but that is totally irrelevant to both the sound and the style of the band.
With the addition of Rickard Evensand (ex-Therion, ex-Soilwork, now Chimaira), Kristian has managed to find the right musicians that would help him express the "evil" and "aggressive" side of his personality. This very successful collaboration led to the release of the band’s debut album "Riders of the Apocalypse".
The mission was for the band to create a sound that would pay tribute to the classic 80’s American Death/Thrash Metal feeling, and believe me when I say that this objective was definitely achieved. You should neither expect to listen to any choir parts, nor to any "oriental" melodies in this album.
What you should expect is nine top quality compositions that are dedicated to creating the ideal headbanging atmosphere for yourselves, and a forty seven-minute nightmare for your neighbours.
It is really nice to be able to hear Christofer using his well-known growls once again, after so many years. Demonoid has given him the excuse that he needed in order to get in touch with his past, and the very friendly Swede took full advantage of that opportunity.
What this album has to offer though, is a constant display of mind-blowing guitar riffs, which are excellently performed by Mr. Kristian and his guitar. I urge you to listen to the intro and the melodic guitar solo of "Wardogs", the Morbid Angelesque theme of "Witchburners", and also the guitar solo in "Hunger My Consort", the quality of which would even make John Petrucci (Dream Theater) feel a little bit jealous.
Christofer Johnsson’s main priority is Therion, and that is not going to change no matter what. The only thing I hope is that these four very talented musicians will not hesitate to create a similar (if not better) album, next time that they feel like releasing some of that energy that they keep well hidden deep inside.
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Review by John Stefanis
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