Demilich - Nespithe

Demilich is one of those very experimental and unorthodox death metal bands that came out of nowhere, yet effortless attracted the vast majority of the fans of the genre with ease due to their debut album, the masterpiece Nespithe. This album may very well be, alongside Phantom's Withdrawal and Incantation's Onward to Golgotha, the pinnacle of death metal music. It's not a coincidence if all three album are featured, with Burzum's Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, in the 'elite four' of the Morsay list, in other words the very best four albums of all heavy metal, sub-genres included.

What to say about this masterpiece? While it may seem random at first listen, once you start paying attention you will notice the incredibly complex riff-craft that is anything but random. Its studious, carefully constructed songwriting manages to make even the most obnoxiously 'weird' riffs fit right next to equally 'weird' riffs, creating a brazenly bizarre experience that never feels forced or gimmicky.

The riffs in themselves are unbelievably technical, as in they put all modern tek-def to shame. But unlike modern tek-def, they are never technical just for the sake of showing off guitar skills. Everything is done with the music as sole priority, with an almost black metal like focus on atmosphere and narrative development.

Nespithe is clearly a treasure of death metal genius, do yourself a favour and go buy it now.

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