Votary - Aimless Life (1992)

Genre: Death Metal
Country: Sweden
Year: 1992

1. Annihilation
2. Obtused By Oppression
3. Drowning in Puke
4. Killing Lust

Download at Mediafire
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Last.fm

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Oh? What have we here? Yet another Swedish band that fell off the face of the earth after releasing only a mere demo. Frankly, I'm surprised why they lasted as long as they did. I mean, this is a very professional sounding demo. The production is pretty much perfect for the time period, and the song-writing is ace. Very atmospheric with some gloomy overtones and well-placed synths, these guys know how to make a song. At times it can sound very melodic and the guitarist often goes off on a 20 second long melodic riff. They aren't quite guitar solos, but not quite your standard riff, either. Something in between. Very engaging and well-done. It's quite obvious Votary know how to write a song.

The drumming is also spectacular. I'm not too familiar with a drum kit, but you can often hear the dinging from a... tom-tom? I dunno, but it's still there and awesome. Excellent double bass and the drums just sound very fluid and tightly woven together. There's not sloppiness hear. I'm impressed.

Vocals are great and full of energy, not grunts, but a bit more varied and powerful. The bass guitar is also very good, as seen in the introduction to "Killing Lust". Overall a fantastic demo. Not sure where these guys went wrong... recommended.