Ah, a sign of the times. The daemons are on the loose, it seems. Or to freely paraphrase Anaal Nathrakh, the devils are all on Earth right now. At least that is what today’s world feels like. So, what about a little excursion into ritualistic territory? We may invoke some abysmal thing dispatched to this mortal coil, after all. A real demon, perhaps? Or – again – a whiff of sulphur and mischief without consequences? Well, we won’t know until we do. And then it will be too late to take the right-hand path. And no spellbook will save you, not even the one from the sorcerers of the Nailed God. You have been warned.
Thus, meet Daemonium Regni, the newest devilish acolyte of the dark on RMR’s ominous Black Metal roster. A solo act headed by one Mickael Broberg (Unanimated), formed somewhat surprisingly – and I quote – “…in the Winter of 2015.”1 The man himself already made a brief appearance on our zine on Tomorrow’s Rain’s record, Ovdan.2 A record dealing with other kinds of daemons, admitted. Yet circling back to the band’s start date, it took this one-man show more than a decade to finally release that much-needed debut. But then, the devil counts in millennia, so what are a meager 10 years to it? Right, nothing at all.
Once Mater Daemonium majestically lurches forth, one starts to understand where Daemonium Regni is headed. A slow, menacing avalanche of grit and grime that will devour everything in its path like them Hawaiian lava flows. And at first, the RMR crew thought that nothing good will come from this record. Measured, almost halting beatz greeted us with – seemingly – dime-a-dozen growls dispatched to the rescue. Until some Rotting Christ-esque rhythms with some Bathory-ish background noise started to manifest themselves, that is. And once the Choirboys Vrom Hell started their sickly incantations, the RMR crew was sold. And we hadn’t even discovered this most unusual but pretty stellar solo at the very end of the track.
But the crazed cackling of the ancient geezers at the RMR Review Desk abruptly stopped by the arrival of Ascendens Tenebrae once they realised that the lyrics were in Latin. The language of the demons, most of the time, but also the language of the Catholic church. I wonder why that is sometimes.3 This second track descends into daemonic territory, a pitch-black representation of old-style Black Metal of the ’90s. And that’s the underlying, often monotonous style this record is famously imbibed with.
Yet, Daemonium Regni injected enough spice into the record to keep interest levels up despite the ubiquitous slow-marching pace and typical, terrible bouts of background drumming. Melodics that suddenly appear, ambient Post Black excursions, the odd solo that should not be there. And yes, absolutely stellar interludes such as Sacrificium always brought our attention levels back up. The latter kinda sounds like the inside of the Mad Hatter’s haunted house or something. And all this speaks of superior songsmithing skills and a carefully crafted production, led by the aforementioned sole main perpetrator.
In the end, let’s make a confession. At first, the RMR crew wasn’t convinced Daemonium Regni would lead anywhere meaningful. The wares on offer just sounded like so much more of the same Black Metal mush we already heard before somewhere. But then, similar to the first Darkend record we listened to a felt two centuries ago, all those underlying elements started to emerge slowly from the dark mists hiding them. And this finally coalesced into one of the better Extreme Metal records on this zine.
In contrast, this means that Daemonium Regni‘s fare isn’t easily accessible. So, if you have the stomach for it, take it slowly with those evil musings. The RMR crew recommends a couple of listening sessions of the whole album at once. And that will let the record reveal all the darkly glowing jewels it contains.
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: Darkness Shall Rise Productions | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 17 April 2024