Artist: Chalice Of Eden
Country: USA
Label: Self-Released
Formats: Digital Demo
Year: 2025
Only a mere three weeks after the release of ‘The Black Serpents Lament’, Chalice Of Eden already returns with a second demo. Maybe we shouldn’t be that surprised, as the main composed and multi-instrumentalist Fallen Warrior tricked us the same way with his other new project, Occult Mountain. But, while I am always sceptical when people tend to release lots of music in a remarkably short period of time, I am still very impressed by the work of Fallen Warrior. ‘Invoking The Spirit Of Death’ is yet another prime example of spirited and vigorous Black Metal.
It will come as no surprise that with such a short interval between the two first demos, the difference in musicality is not very great. ‘Invoking The Spirit Of Death’ largely conveys a similar atmosphere as its predecessor. In the review for that first demo I described the music as being a bit of a mash up between Polish, French, American and Portuguese Black Metal, adding equal parts to the mix to come to something that is slightly chaotic and massively melancholic. That last bit, the dreary and gloomy vibe, feels even more present of this newest offering. Mostly because of the productional values, compared to the first demo, this one feels less oppressive and sharper in tone. Not necessarily cleaner or clearer, but definitely more piercing.
This means that the music shifts emotionally towards the most gloomy work of Judas Iscariot and actually has nothing in common anymore with, for example, Black Cilice or any of the Les Légions Noires bands. How such a minimal difference can have such an impact on the whole experience as a listener remains an astonishing sensation.
