Artist: Medieval Demon
Country: Greece
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
Although I already had seen the name of Medieval Demon mentioned here and there a few times before, I hadn’t actually heard them until a few years ago. I don’t remember for what reason, but I ended up looking at their page at Metal-Archives and I saw their first split 7” EP from 1994 was granted with a stunning score of 10/100. It’s not really an exception that when reviews are very low, the music appeals to me very much. Not always, of course, but in this case it very well worked out the way I expected.
Greek Black Metal, to begin with, is a typical sort of Black Metal that you must learn to appreciate. Some people may be immediately captivated, but this is definitely not entry-level Black Metal from Norway or Sweden. The often ramshackle and messy production means that it takes a few listens to appreciate the beauty of the rough-and-tumble sound. The sultry and occult atmosphere of warm-country Black Metal is certainly something different. This was also the case on that first split 7″ EP that the band shared with the also Greek and rather obscure Invocation.
That 10% review on Metal-Archives mentioned a MIDI-sound on the guitars that apparently annoyed the shit out of this guy, at least back in January 2005 when that review was penned. As a whole, this guy didn’t say anything that isn’t true That production of that debut song of Medieval Demon DID make it sound all shitty, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the band would agree to that statement as well. Yet, murky sound, the result of limited resources and possibilities at the time in Greece, all made what we know cherish as the revered Hellenic Black Metal sound.
Fast forward to 2025, a good three decades after the release of that split 7” EP with Invocation, the band is still around and just dropped their fifth full-length album. Okay, they took a break between 1998 and 2013, but the seed planted back in the early 90’s spawned a band that had a much longer lifespan than that dear reviewer had imagined in 2005.
Obviously the years since Medieval Demon’s inception have granted the involved musicians a wealth of experience and an abundance of possibilities. And that, frankly, shows. The post-reunion albums, all released through Hells Headbangers, show a band that arguably sounds more mature than what was offered through the earlier recordings, including their ‘Demonolatria’-debut album from 1998. ‘All Powers Of Darkness’, just as the preceding albums, fits pretty well in the current Black Metal constellation that is increasingly kind to the classic Greek sound.
Lots of melodies, both conveyed through keyboards/organs and guitar leads and those archetypical drums do make this a thoroughly Greek Black Metal record. Yet, it doesn’t at all sound like Varathron or Rotting Christ, arguably the ones who delivered the blueprint of the “Hellenic Sound”. Medieval Demon has quite a bit of a unique sound that incorporates a very dynamic song crafting with an epic and bombastic approach to the tried and tested formula. Some parts are quite heavily orchestrated, a bit like mid-era Septicflesh minus the Death Metal ambiance, but with that same sense for horror and gothic that combines in a modern yet not-slick experience. Modern maybe, but it never strays too far from their own musical and native roots. In fact, on ‘All Powers Of Darkness’ more than on any of their previous work, these guys seem to just throw in a whole lot and let it simmer until it becomes something really tasty.
Besides the grand and horror-like approach of Septicflesh, there is a meaty bass-heavy basis in almost every song that truly reminds of the most creative pieces of Necromantia, hell, at the tail-end of the album they even threw in a saxophone as well. The mystique reminds of early Thou Art Lord or perhaps even Varathron at their debut album. But, on the other hand, I am also quite sure that basically everybody who has a soft spot for the warm-blooded atmosphere of such bands like early Mystifier or Mortuary Drape and a lot of nowadays heroes like Moonfall, Ceremonial Torture, Moenen Of Xezbeth, Haan Valar, Necromantical Invocations and the resurrected Baxaxaxa will eat this right up.
Perhaps not the best band in the genre, but with ‘All Powers Of Darkness’ Medieval Demon delivered a solid album that is very much worth the attention. And, for the reviewer who wrote those few words on that “pitiful” first recording: thank you, I bought that little piece of vinyl and I still love it!
