This demo isn’t for the faint-hearted. There’s no polish on this at all - the production is sub-par, it’s roughly mixed and sounds like it was recorded in a concrete bunker. It is however, rather damn groovy.
Slecht are one of those post-modern misanthropic type of bands… you know the ones that have a myspace page but have NOTHING on it bar a couple of tracks - normally these kind of bands are dodgy bedroom bands with nothing outstanding about them. But over the course of the five tracks on this demo EP their style of lo-fi Blackened Doom has won me over.
‘Where Land and Water Meet’ is a very basic track - the drumming is very no frills, the guitar work is minimal, and the production on the track makes it sound like an 80s demo tape, but the bass line is very infectious and really drives the song. ‘Rape and Burn’ sounds like early Satyricon minus the pomp and ceremony, the result of which is a rather nice slice of hair-swaying necro rock. ‘Exhuming’ has another brilliant bass line that adds power to an already crushing guitar riff which all adds up for a very heavy doomy track with an almost Celtic Frost feel to it. ‘(N)acht’ is a bit faster which has the effect of making it sound, again like an 80’s death metal demo, but a good one non-the-less. The final track is a re-recorded version of ‘Einde Der Tijd’ from their previous demo - I haven’t heard the original so I can’t comment on its development, but I’m glad it was included. A slow intro switching to a faster paced attack and back again makes for a very catchy track.
This is a band with potential. Their groove laden blackened doom sound is a winner for me and I’m sure it would be for a lot of people if they spent a bit more time and money on the production. But for now this is a nice little gem from the underground.
http://www.slecht-blackmetal.be
http://www.myspace.com/slechtblackmetal
