Metal Underground.com

Despite the fact that there are more generic brutal death metal bands in this world than there are pundits to listen to them, since the early 90's they've relentlessly marched on much like the undead armies they so love. Somnom Ballistic's take on the genre gets everything right and is a nice start for the band.

The vocals on this demo are the highlight, using the proven Deicide guttural/rasp combo. The guttural vocals are excellent and never flinch from the brutal vein of Suffocation's Frank Mullen. The raspy screamed vocals are equally as vicious, reminiscent of Ihsahn in early Emperor recordings with some Lord Worm-isms - top marks here.

Despite the normal demo production, the instrumentalism of this album comes through nicely. While definitely formative when compared to technical juggernauts like Suffocation or Necrophagist, it feels like the band is on the right road to brutal horizons. Normally solos aren't something I find necessary for a band but they would have been a nice addition to this demo. The band takes a slightly slower approach (only marginally though) than most brutal death metal bands but the riffing always feels solid. In fact, "solid" would probably be the best word to describe this demo - everything fits quite nicely.

The decision to make about reviewing demos, however, is whether this another bedroom act by a metal fan and his "just bought an instrument" best mates? Or is this a band who could make it in the world of starving metal bands under the mainstream's derisive and ignorant view of extreme metal?

The good news is Somnom Ballistic sound like they have the spark of brutal talent needed to move to the next step in the extreme metal scene. Everything on this demo shows that these guys have what it takes to release an LP. Hopefully with time and some new songs, Somnom Ballistic will find that musical x-factor that bands like Nile, Necrophagist and Cannibal Corpse found to leap the legions of brutal death metal clones and put themselves in the spotlight.