Demos are more often than expected, indicative of the quality of a band's music. Americans ENTHEAN play an incredibly ambitious, genre-destroying brand of metal that transgresses the realms of Black, Thrash, Death, but all four tracks of their demo, "Tones of Desecration" are unmistakably progressive.

"Dysthamasia"; take IMMORTAL, with a symphonic backdrop of DIMMU BORGIR, and the technicality of CANNIBAL CORPSE. Initially, I was amazed with the quality of the recording; the word demo does not necessarily imply studio-level mastering, but considering the output, this piece is not far-off. Perhaps most admirable is how the ferocious bass cuts through the thick drumming and atmospherics, and vocals that are not lost in the guitar playing. The title track is a tumultuous cascade of technical riffing, painting a darkly technical backdrop for the snarling vocal delivery. It progresses and changes form, composed to project an intelligent evolution of music. This band certainly does not shy away from blistering guitar solos, either.

"Ekpyrosis" is an exquisitely bizarre track. Introduced with a bombastic flare I rarely hear, it is begins with an extraordinary between keyboard and guitar melody, orchestrated in a marvelously theatric and dramatic manner; think FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE at the opera. Interplay of the bass is most prominent in this track, churning out complex runs and licks that burst through the subterranean. "1054" is markedly slower than the rest of the tracks, taken down to an accessibly, thought-provoking tempo... I jest, that lasted all of 55 seconds. The most ambitious track on the demo, it contains a more adventurous array of symphonics, and an embellished vocal delivery, including clean vocals that turn the choruses into a strangled, operatic soundscape.

Apart from being one of the most well-executed and well-produced demos I had ever heard, it is by far one of the most ambitious, and see no reason why it should not catch the ear of a record label yearning to take on what is likely going to grow into a tremendous band.