Chilean thrash metalheads Demona, recently relocated to Quebec, are tenacious in their effort to sound like the 80s never ended. We’re talkin total Baloff-era Exodus, COC, Sentinel Beast, Sodom / Kreator / Destruction worship, especially heavy on the German influences, with clinically precise riffs pummeling away with obvious hints of a passionate punk ethos seeping in through the cracks. Guitars absolutely shred, bring to mind equal parts Slayer, Mercyful Fate, and Vio-Lence; the vocals feel a bit weak to me, overall failing to match the intensity of the instruments—hell, even Girlschool sounds more ferocious than this gal in the singing department. See also recent KZSU faves Ghost Tower from Nebraska. An excellent start, but they’re going to have to grow by leaps and bounds to avoid retro redundancy. One of Ragnar of Ravensfjord’s picks of the year! FCC clean

1. ~20s sampled TV laughter, followed by standard tremolo thrash riffs and cool NWOBHM twin-guitar action pounding away in this INSTRUMENTAL opener.
2. *Relentless pummeling assault with some sick tempo changes, alert and invigorating rhythms totally bring to mind early Kreator.
3. Pretty damn apocalyptic, chugging thrash riffs at flesh ripping speed—may induce whiplash
4. Spanish lyrics about giving in to your murderous impulses, your whiplash will increase tenfold
5. Jolted, powerful riffs, interesting minor scale exploration and coordinated guitar/bass interplay, totally reeks of Slayer’s “Hell Awaits” album
6. *Relatively upbeat (emphasis on relatively) punk-ish tune in Spanish about how heavy metal is here to stay, cabrones—sick guitar solo!
7. Furious divebomb assault, think Sodom’s “Ausgebombt” and early Destruction, that flawless blend of Megadeth and Discharge
8. Almost identical tempo, sick catchy riffs induce headbang overdrive
9. **If Destruction had a lead guitar player who could eat Eddie Van Halen for breakfast… Also the vocals are way less annoying here, someone else is singing.
10. **Insanely fast tempos will flay you alive, through there’s interesting pacing and variation, think DRI after they moved out of their parents’ basement
11. Searing punk-on-steroids riffs with some tastefully sparse but masterful shredding
12. Cover of a German thrash band that influenced the hell out of them, furious speed metal with some catchy hooks and blazing solos.