This three song demo from Portugal’s FEAR THY NAME holds a lot of promise. The band threads between Death and Thrash, with some Black Metal influence. Though only 3 songs, the demo passes the twenty minute mark, so the songs are relatively long for this style of music.

However, instead of being one of those blast-you-in-the-head-endlessly bands, FEAR THY NAME writes songs that have time to develop, expand and have some changes within them. The guitar work is pretty stellar when it comes to rhythm, often being a mid-tempo with melodic elements, and backed by keyboards. The one element I didn’t like was the soloing, which just felt…a bit clichéd, to be honest. But that’s my only complaint. The lengths of the songs don’t bother me, because everything is well structured, and it’s not overbearing to listen to, like a good deal of Death Metal.

The fact that the songs are all strong in their own rights means that there is a lack of a “standout track”, but as a whole, the demo is great.

I’m intrigued in hearing a full-length from these guys. (Online November 20, 2005)