Category Archives: DesDemon
DESDEMON – The Awakening
DesDemon – The Awakening (2010, self-released)
1. “Acquiescence of Illusion” … 5:53
2. “A Soul in Exile” … 6:44
3. “Iago” … 8:23
4. “The Burning Martyr” … 4:41
5. “In the Absence of Light” … 11:40
Band:
Mistress Tina – Lead Vocals
Lord Metadox – Guitar
Ron “Pelagius” Porcelli – Bass
Dan Rhodus – Drums
Nicholas Gati – Keyboards
Additional Musicians:
Nicholas Main Henriksen – Keyboards
Hailing from NYC, DesDemon are a female-fronted band with a sound that the group’s press release describes as “blackened symphonic metal”. Certainly, DesDemon fits into the symphonic metal category but they also throw in bits of power metal, traditional metal and thrash metal. They are a band that seems to be on the come up because while I don’t listen to much symphonic metal I know enough to know that playing on bills with bands like Nightwish, Symphony X, Kamelot, Epica and Dragonforce is pretty cool. In addition to playing symphonic metal, the band itself is a concept “based upon a dark and twisted tale of a woman’s fall from grace, and her evolution to a darker side of life”.
The Awakening EP is the band’s debut and it’s a pretty good. It’s a very atmospheric affair the succeeds conjuring up that sense of darkness that the band’s concept is rooted in. Mistress Tina has a voice built for this type of music (while not going over board like she’s in an actual opera as some bands will do) and I really enjoyed the guitar work of Lord Metadox. When it comes to symphonic metal, I think keyboards often tend to get in the way of the rest of the song, but I’m happy to report that on this album it adds to and enhances the rest of the band & music instead of weakening them.
Though I honestly like all of these songs, my favorite track is “The Burning Martyr” which is more power metal than symphonic but the haunting “Iago” is another front runner but I’m not a fan of the growling she does later in the song. “In the Absence of Light” is an EPIC near 12 minute song that is really cool too and it features enough twists and turns that it doesn’t overstay its welcome.
The Awakening is a good debut showing from DesDemon, I hope a full studio album is not far behind because I’d be interested in hearing it.
Highlights: “Iago”, “The Burning Martyr”, “In the Absence of Light”
Metal Excess 