Quite an eclectic gem, this one is.

When I see the term Technical Death Metal, I immediately think to the subjects of gore and horror, and everything with which the term cliché' can be applied to. Finnish band DEMILICH only ever released one album - their debut, back in the 90's, and may never do so again. However, "Nespithe" is something rather special, and not your average Death Metal record. First off, considering its release date, I was impressed with the recording and mixing quality; particularly how easy it is to hear the bass past everything. Then there are Antti's vocals. Think of the deepest, most guttural Death Metal vocalist you can, then think deeper; the man reaches vocal fry frequencies not thought humanly possible. 75% of it may sound like aggressive burping, but it is still damn impressive.

I'm going to be lazy here; half of the song titles are over 10 words long; "When the Sun...", the opening track, reminded me of a strange combination of DEATH and old DEICIDE, and is not just 4 minutes of blast beats. Overall the song contains diverse rhythm and melodic patterns, and a surprising abundance of progressive-sounding flourishes. "The Echo (Replacement)" feels more like a nod towards the grind material of old CARCASS with very familiar sounding chord progressions and sudden dissonance between riffs, and when I thought the vocals couldn't get any deeper, they did. Once again a highly versatile song that often ventures between the brutal and blast-beaten, to the Thrashy, to the catchy and melodic. "(Within) The Chamber of Whispering Eyes" does not sound too dissimilar to the rest of the album, but is noteworthy because of its exemplary guitar work; the combination of lightning-fretting and barbaric drums are almost hypnotic and trancelike.

"Erecshyrinol" is one of the strangest-sounding tracks on this album yet. Almost purely instrumental, save the odd growl /( burp?), almost every bar of riffage is different to the next, and each passages splashes a different-shaped torrent of blood. It may not seem as such to some, but the band were clearly extreme Metal geniuses. "Raped Embalmed Beauty Sleep", an even more strange a title than the previous 15-20 worders, closes (or leaves open) the record, and in general feels more like a traditional Death Metal track, with fast-paced, blast-beaten riffs and an in-your-face vocal attack. However, in parts there are still smidgens of complex and uncharacteristic drum patterns - stuff I would normally hear in funk and hip-hop for goodness sake. Oh well. They can do it, and they did it because they can; who cares. It's still an excellent track.

Whether the band is no longer active, live or in the studio, if you are a fan of old school Death Metal, you don't really have much of an excuse not to at least check out this album. Unless you are terribly afraid of the sound of burping.