Demonaz - March of the Norse

Review by Jason Guest




One of the founding members of black metal legends Immortal and one half of the Doom Occulta brothers, Demonaz has delivered his much-anticipated debut album, March of the Norse, bringing in Ice Dale of Enslaved on guitar and bass and former Immortal drummer Armagedda to forge his own brand of Norse Metal.

Though many may expect this to an Immortal album under the guise of its lyricist, they couldn’t be more wrong. It’s inevitable that Immortal’s sound would inform the album seeing as Demonaz’s responsibility for their sound is immeasurable. March of the Norse, however, is not a black metal album. This is more a straight-ahead metal album laced with elements of Bathory, thrash, pagan, Viking, and Norse mythology laced fortified with images of frozen landscapes, vast forests, fire and flames, and epic tales of victory. The album gallops through blackened metal to Norse riffs and ambient acoustic interludes to valiant vocal choruses, making for an album that will surprise many, pleasantly so. While there are some tracks that sound too similar to each other in the riffs, tempo, and feel, ‘Under the Great Fires’, ‘All Blackened Sky’ and ‘Where Gods Once Rode’ are head banging, fist-pumping tunes, and the title track and album closer, ‘Legends of Fire and Ice’, are by far the best tracks here.

Atmospheric, dark and determined, with March of the Norse, Demonaz has captured something magickal in the fine performances of each musician and the magnificent production. It may not break any new ground but it shows a side to a musician and lyricist that will surprise and maybe annoy many with its catchy songs and perhaps wider appeal than his other bands.

7 out of 10

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