Solid witches brew - 瘧鬼's / Demon's 未成仏 / Juvenile Buddha

For the third year in a row, Japanese brutal death metal band Demon has released an extended play consisting of three tracks which is strangely entitled Juvenile Buddha this time around. The songs have become even shorter than before as the three tracks barely crack the five-minute mark. 

This release is better than the noisy debut Pustules but a step down after the more creative sophomore output Poison. 

On the positive side, the chemistry between the vocals and instruments has improved which makes for a more fluid song writing. The vocals sound lower than before and make me think of an evil frog. The bass guitar is the band’s outstanding instrument once more and even has two dynamic solos in the closing tune. The drums and percussion sound more adventurous and diversified than before. 

On the negative side, the production sounds definitely worse again with canny drum sound and surprisingly thin guitar sound. The songs could be a little bit longer and more fleshed out. The guitar play in particular should improve as it chugs along unimpressively. 

Demon’s Juvenile Buddha isn’t a terrible output but a step down after the promising predecessor. Fans of brutal death metal with chugging riffs, domineering bass guitar sound and low vocals should give this effort a spin nevertheless.

Final rating: 50%