Review by Ben for Demilich - Nespithe (1993)

Unique and fascinating album with vocals the must be heard to be believed.

This is such a unique album! In the realms of death metal, where there are strict rules and boundaries, it is extremely rare to find an album that sounds like no other. Demilich appeared, released one bizarre yet captivating album, and then seemingly disappeared off the face of the planet. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to find out that the band were only visiting Earth when they decided to record this album before shipping off back to whatever galaxy they came from. After all, those vocals are surely not human! They're so incredibly low and guttural that I just can't imagine them emitting from a mere man's vocal chords. As many have mentioned below, they do take some getting used to, but once you get past the amusement factor, they really do suit these strange and wonderful riffs perfectly.

The whole album has a kind of alien feel to it. The cover is truly creepy, the song titles and lyrics are completely bizarre (The Planet That Once Used to Absorb Flesh in Order to Achieve Divinity and Immortality anyone?). I find it really refreshing that a band cannot take themselves too seriously, and yet still spend the time creating such a complete package. Most tracks contain violently shifting riffs that while making a lot of the album sound very similar, are always entirely captivating. I'd like to give Nespithe a higher score than 4 but the fact remains that I can't tell a lot of these songs apart from each other. They found a truly unique and awesome sound, but it's perhaps a bit too strange for my human mind to come to grips with at times. The album deserves all the praise it gets for, at the very least, not being afraid to take their own path. I hope Demilich are still having this much fun wherever they are situated in the universe today.