It’s safe to say the five members of Charleston black metal band Demiser — singer Demiser the Demiser, drummer Infestor, guitarists Gravepisser and Phalomancer and bassist Defiler — are excited about all the darkness that’s been enveloping them recently.
After a long period of steadily building a South Carolina fan base with its high-energy, in-your-face performances, major-industry labels Blacklight Media Records and Metal Blade Records recently recognized the act’s menacing potential and gave Demiser a push toward international notoriety.
“Metal Blade/Blacklight reached out to us initially, and after a few phone calls with them, we decided that our vision for where we wanted to take Demiser lined up perfectly with their plans for us,” said Demiser the Demiser. “After that, it was just a matter of signing on. With the resources both of these labels can provide, we’re very optimistic on where we can go from here.”
The band’s starting point has been a strong one. During the process of crafting its debut record, Through The Gate Eternal, Demiser worked with Columbia engineer Chase McGuckin to achieve a certain sonic undertone that is forward-looking yet still conjures up the feeling of the classic metal era.
“We knew from the beginning that we wanted this record to sound big enough to fill a room: huge drums, full guitars, strong bass and highly aggressive vocals,” Gravepisser told City Paper.
“We wanted to have a sloppy-sleazy feel to our sound without compromising on the skill and technicality we bring to the table,” Phalomancer said.
The enigmatic ensemble’s sound will fill even more rooms than usual in the coming weeks, as Demiser hits the road for a full-scale East Coast and Midwest tour this fall, opening for Atlanta-based metal quartet Cloak.
With a label on lock and a tour lined up, the band anticipates many more milestones.
“No brakes! We’re out to stoke the evil in your soul, and we don’t plan on slowing down,” Defiler said.
While the group’s ambition remains large, Demiser maintains a modest view of success.
“We’re not trying to break the mold by any means, we’re just writing our brand of evil black thrash. As long as we’re still enjoying what we do, and we’re not going broke doing it, then we’re well on our way, especially in this genre,” Infestor said.
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