EP REVIEW: King of All Demons – Tribe Of Pazuzu

In 2019, TRIBE OF PAZUZU exploded onto the underground death metal scene with their excellent debut EP Heretical Uprising (read our review here). Almost 13 months to the day, the group, led by Nick Sagias, are back with a brand new EP – King of All Demons. But can Sagias, joined again by CRYPTOPSY/VLTIMAS drummer Flo Mounier and ex-MACIFICATION axeman Randy Harris recapture the magic from their debut release, or will King of All Demons be obscured in an over-saturated and incredibly strong extreme metal scene?

Sagias and co. waste no time, throwing the gauntlet down with King of All Demons‘ title track and reintroducing their brand of classic old-school death metal and INCANTATION-esque dissonance straight off the bat. Bursts of dive bomb leads cut through the groove and hook-heavy vocal performance, while Harris lays down a lovely little lead-break towards the closing moments of the opening track. Summoning Ritual crashes in with a similar lean towards groove and dissonance, before The Burning of Diseased Empires makes its old-school, speed driven presence known, pushing King of All Demons passed its half way point.

The biggest and most noticeable change from Heretical Uprising to King of All Demons is the absence of INCANTATION riff-machine John McEntee – due to other commitments, he was missing from the writing and recording of King of All Demons. However, he lends his instantly recognisable voice to Crucify the Deceivers – coincidentally, the strongest track on offer. Here, Harris really lets loose with his guitar work, mixing groove and chaos in perfect harmony. With no intention on letting King of All Demons fade out, TRIBE OF PAZUZU rip their way to the final seconds of the EP with the speed heavy, utterly furious Retaliation & Wrath – Mounier drives the track wonderfully with his abuse of the kit, while Saigas delivers perhaps the biggest, catchiest chorus of the band’s discography so far.

With Heretical Uprising, TRIBE OF PAZUZU showed themselves as one of the most exciting new bands in the extreme metal underground. King of All Demons sees the band double down on this. The songwriting is here is every bit as tight as its predecessor, and the execution similarly flawless. Saigas has struck gold with TRIBE OF PAZUZU – and the death metal scene is theirs for the conquering.

Rating: 8/10

King of All Demons is out now via Vic Records. 

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