Most obscure extreme metal is average, some are mediocre, a few are utterly atrociously, and then there are a few albums that are absolutely spectacular. I managed to strike lucky with Visions of Passion and Lust, the last demo obscure Greek death metal band Grace of Despair ever released.
The guitars are extremely powerful and exhibit influences from Human-era Death (best seen in the riffs shortly after the beginning of “Despair”) and the genre of doom/death (present throughout the album) with a tiny touch of NWOBHM for good measure. (You can see this NWOBHM influence in the galloping rhythms near the beginning of “Illusions”.) The riffs are infused with a healthy dose of melody and the solos screech and howl with splendor.
The drums are equally as powerful, surprising given that this is a demo. The double bass may sound kind of soft, but they make up for it with sweet fills. The vocals are more of a deep yell instead of a growl. They sort of sound like a deeper rendition of Obituary. Quite surprising for a demo, the bass is high in the mix, but it's not horribly distorted, and their riffs give the music a nice texture.
If there's only one complaint I can make about this demo, it would be that the songs end too abruptly. It would be better if the songs had more satisfying closure. Especially that solo at the end of “Sorrowful Souls”. That solo was so awesome! Why did you have to fade the song out during the good part!? Other than that, Visions of Passion and Lust is an excellent death metal demo from a promising band that ended far too early.
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