Durvasag are a relatively new three-piece black/thrash band
hailing from Toronto. With their newest promo release, they prove that they have the
potential to be one of the top thrash bands around. This particular release
(which is downloadable from the band for free) contains two tracks, “Sacrifice”
and “Nuclear Winds”. “Sacrifice” opens with some high quality (albeit,
stereotypical) mid-paced thrash riffing, before erupting into a speedy
blackened assault. The chorus slows things down a bit and is pure Venom
worship. In fact, if you sped up Venom’s faster parts and made them a lot more
intense, that would accurately describe Durvasag’s sound on this track. The
band does add some other influences, however; there are some blastbeats
present, as well as soloing that is fairly competent given the age of these band
members. The vocals are a vicious shout (not unlike Tom Araya or Cronos) that,
at times, evolves into more of a scream. The second song, “Nuclear Winds”, is
an equally catchy song that is much more intense than “Sacrifice”. There is
blasting aplenty, as well as some serious riffage. Both songs hold their own pretty well, but I would say "Sacrifice" is a bit more memorable than "Nuclear Winds".
The only real thing that holds back this release is the
production. While all of the instruments can be heard, the mix doesn’t seem to
be as clear as it could be. Given the style of music however (and the fact that
this is only a sampling of their upcoming EP), it’s something that is pretty
easy to live with. All fans of stripped down, raw, metal will love this
release. Despite being quite young, Durvasag is a band that sounds like they’ve
already found their sound and with this EP Promo, I’m definitely left wanting
more!
Be sure to check out and like Durvasag on Facebook!
This promo can be downloaded here:
Highlight
"Sacrifice"
Final Rating
4.2/5 or 84%.
Written by Scott