Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Blood Thirsty Demons - Let The War Begin - 2005 - My Graveyard Productions

Track Listing1. The Awakening 2. Let the War Begin 3. Black Solitude 4. Blood Thirsty Demons 5. I Am the Evil 6. This is My Death 7. Burn the Witches 8. ...All is Black 9. Lucifer's Fall 10. Lady of Sin

OK... I like a good joke as much as the next person, but sometimes a joke can be taken too far!

Blood Thirsty Demons (I'm not kidding... that's the band's name) is an Italian operation, formed and fronted by Cristian Mustaine (no relation to Dave) in 1997. The band bio says that after hitting some stumbling blocks after the first two years, the band split. During that time, C. Mustaine begins studying the occult and focusing his interests towards 'darker sounds' (I know... I know... it's a very different approach for a black/horror metal band). The artwork for this album is, *gasp*, the three members, dressed in black, corpse paint, and with the assorted skulls and Halloween skeletons tossed about for atmosphere, all set in a dark background.

The tunes actually have potential, but never quite grab you. There are a few 'bright' spots (forgive me for using the term 'bright' when talking about a black metal band), with 'Let the War Begin' and 'This is My Death.' Otherwise, there are two standout problems with this material:

1) Lack of originality.

There's nothing about this band or this album that sets it apart from any other band in this particular genre.

2) The vocals.

I have yet to hear a black metal vocalist who possessed anything that could be considered a 'good voice,' but in the case of this vocalist, while the passion is there, the timbre is nasally and forced, resulting in something worse than the usual. Perhaps some lessons in vocal control are in order (push from the diaphragm, not the throat).

I have to believe that only the diehards could find anything appealing about this album, but to each his own. I give this one 2 inverted crosses out of 5.


--Susan Wright 11.16.05