Artist: Death Invoker
Country: Peru
Label: Primitive Devil Worship
Formats: Demo Tape
Year: 2025
Death Invoker was founded two decades ago and although the band has never released a full-length, it is highly unlikely you’ve never heard of the band before. With more than two hands full of short players and split releases (with bands such as Necroccultus, Pathogen, Paganfire, Bestial Possession, Throneum and Hell Torment) it wouldn’t be beyond the realm of possibility that you’ve at least come across the band name once. Especially if you have a soft spot for that amazing South American Extreme Metal that always seems to consist of an equal mix of Black, Death and Thrash metal.
The band has put out no less than three releases in 2025 and all of them at the end of the year, but we have to start somewhere, so why not with this one. I love demos and rehearsals for their raw energy, so my guess is that this could very well be the most interesting out of the three – not in the least because the other two, being an EP and a split CD with Hessian, contain the very same recordings.
The re-using of tracks is not something new in Extreme Music, hell, the bands with the largest discographies around like Sabbat, Agathocles, Nunslaughter and Unholy Grave all rehash old recordings and song infinitely, but in the case of a few of those South American bands I think it actually adds to the charm. Take bands like Impurity or Goat Semen for instance, countless of live and/or split tapes and whatnot, but truth is: such bands actually sound best in a rehearsal or live setting.
The four tracks on ‘Reh. Damnations 2025’ are not exclusive nor new either. Two of them ended up on the previously mentioned EP and split CD with Hessian, the others are older tracks that appeared on older demos. Still, I think ‘Reh. Damnations 2025’ is a great listen, it captures the band at their most vibrant, with a thrilling energy that fits the style like nothing else. A bit more Death Metal oriented, but there’s a lot of old Sepultura and Sarcófago to be heard in the primitive pummelling and charming “clunky” structures and song progressions. Definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for a daily fix of primal Latin American hammering.
The physical cassette tape was released in 33 copies only, that alone is already limiting your chances to get one, but knowing that Primitive Devil Worship is a Russian label doesn’t really help matters either. With the chances of getting your greedy little paws on this rehearsal tape being less than slim, we’ll have to make do with the Bandcamp version. That’s fine too.
