Review: Demoniac – So It Goes

Style: Technical Thrash Metal (Harsh vocals)
Review by: Andrew
Country: Chile
Release date: January 29th, 2021

It’s fast.

That’s usually how I feel about thrash metal. 

With the notable exception of Vektor’s magnum opus Terminal Redux, there really isn’t much in the way of thrash metal, progressive or otherwise, that I find particularly interesting. Fast riffs, shrieky vocals, & blistering chromatic solos, i.e. all the things typically present in any archetypal thrash metal album, just don’t do it for me in that combination. That’s how it usually goes.

Enter Demoniac, Chilean thrashers who, while unfortunately sharing a name with now-defunct prior band of the two DragonForce guitarists, have carved their own unique identity in the metal sphere. Let me start by saying Demoniac without a doubt plays thrash metal. So It Goes includes every single aspect of thrash listed above. But what sets So It Goes apart from most other music of the style is how Demoniac incorporates these tropes. Beyond that, Demoniac also shakes things up by twisting in some outside influences which in themselves add an entirely new dimension to their sound. These two factors combine to make So It Goes not only engaging and interesting, but also fresh throughout.

Coming in at just about 40 minutes on the dot, So It Goes absolutely does not overstay its welcome. It begins with a roar with the track “RSV – Fools Coincidence – Testigo”: seven minutes of metally goodness. The guitar here is quintessentially thrash while simultaneously incorporating other sounds to remain varied and engaging. Singer Javier Ortiz comes in with vocals reminiscent of Tom Araya in his heyday but with better enunciation. The first track does not relent, ending with a flashy solo over a frenetic, pulsating rhythm guaranteed to make you bang your head. 

From the moment 2nd track “The Trap” began, I knew this album was special among its peers of its genre. A piano line comes in constantly rising and falling, establishing a ridiculous amount of tension. The piano quickly gives way to the thrash sound seen in the first track, segueing effortlessly from verse to chorus to solo much in the way the first track did. For someone who doesn’t typically enjoy thrash metal all too much, So It Goes was off to a really good start.

Then comes in “Extraviado.” Is that… clarinet???? Demoniac take the uniqueness one step beyond normal by incorporating clarinet — and it works fucking wonderfully. “Extraviado” is merely a glimpse at what Demoniac are able to accomplish with the clarinet; it comes in again in an immensely satisfying way in nearly-20 minute title track “So It Goes.” By the way, I like this trend of bands having one song be half an album’s runtime. It’s bold, but pays off enormously when it works. For So It Goes, it absolutely works. The title track manages to bring together every independent thread from the former four songs and weave them into a magnificent tapestry of technical proggy thrash goodness. Riffs out the wazoo, ripping solos, a bit of lead bass(!), and more of the clarinet I’ve come to love so much. These all come together to truly create a masterpiece of a track. If there’s anything about “So It Goes” I’d change, it would simply be more clarinet — it’s such an underutilized instrument in metal in general and I would love to see more of it.

Demoniac not only avoid the sophomore slump, but they beat it over the head with a crowbar until it begs for mercy. As relative newcomers to the scene, they’ve managed to carve themselves a spot among the great technical thrash bands and I cannot wait to see where Demoniac take their sound next. 

Note: So It Goes initially released on CD in 2020 but came out on streaming services in 2021 so for the purposes of this blog, we are considering it a 2021 release.

Recommended tracks: RSV – Fools Coincidence – Testigo, Extraviado, So It Goes
Recommended for fans of: Vektor, Kreator, Cryptic Shift
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Edged Circle Productions – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook

Demoniac is:
– Javier Ortiz (vocals, guitars)
– Nicolas Young (guitars)
– Rodrigo Poblete (drums)
– Vicente Pereira (bass)