Review Summary: 10...9...8...7...6...6...6
In a discography like Testament’s where opinions vary so dramatically on just about every album, it’s almost amusing how their seventh full-length is near universally regarded as their rock bottom. It certainly features their shakiest lineup yet as only Chuck Billy and Eric Peterson remained from Low, having recruited one-time Legacy vocalist Derrick Ramirez for bass duties and drummer Gene Hoglan in his first stint with the band. There isn’t even a fully committed lead guitarist on board as Forbidden’s Glen Alvelais only plays as a guest on “New Eyes of Old,” leaving Peterson to attempt to cover as many fronts as possible on his own.
For what it’s worth, Demonic feels like a logical enough progression from its predecessor in terms of style. The production maintains the same balance between clarity and molten power, the vocals concentrate much more on gruff grunts with the cleans only popping up sparingly for more abstract phrasing, and the guitars take on a much blunter character with more emphasis on stop-start chugs and dissonant squealing leads. There’s a sense that the musicians are essentially doubling down on the groove and death metal elements which enriched Low, leaving behind all traces of their thrash roots beyond the very occasional bursts of speed.
Unfortunately, the void opened by missing that thrash influence doesn’t seem to have been filled by anything substantial. One can hear plenty of unorthodox melody patterns and off-the-wall song structures, but there doesn’t seem to be any real sense of direction. There’s certainly promise in the warped textures of songs like “Jun-Jun” and “Hatred’s Rise,” but they end up getting lost in the shuffle and the overall pacing drags despite running at a lean forty minutes long. Albums like Souls of Black and The Ritual were at least trying to bring memorable songs despite their rather limp presentations, but Demonic seems more interested in just being weird for the sake of weird.
Thankfully even an album like this manages to squeeze in at least one great staple song with the opening “Demonic Refusal.” The track’s upbeat hustle is more rooted in industrial than thrash, but the rhythms are tight, and the vocal lines are catchy despite an exclusively growled delivery. It may not be an essential staple but it’s a bit of dumb fun that even seems to predict Slipknot in a way. “The Burning Times” and “Murky Waters” operate in a similar fashion with enjoyable enough results but don’t quite muster the same enthusiasm for me.
As much as Testament deserves props for innovating their sound in an era where their peers had either gone soft, dumbed themselves down, or disbanded completely, Demonic is ultimately a messy listen. It’s certainly intriguing to see the band completely give way to those contemporary elements but they’re ultimately let down by haphazard songwriting and lacking overall purpose. Perhaps the template could’ve worked with an album full of “Demonic Refusals,” but it likely would’ve amounted to a dunderheaded nu metal album rather than anything that could live up to Low’s second wind. When it comes to checking out Testament’s death groove trilogy, it’s better off to skip this one and just go straight for The Gathering.
