Article By: Brian Halsey ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
Iceland has a ritual where they kill a toxic shark, throw it in a deep hole, throw salt on it, piss on it, bury it, and then dig it up way later to dry it out and feast on the fermented corpse. With that said, most Nords agree that Finland is still a crazier place than Iceland. Think about that for a second…
If you ever end up in Finland, DEMONIC DEATH JUDGE will probably make you get naked and jump into a frozen lake, or sit on a giant anthill, or make you throw your cell phone as far as you can. The attack is led by Jaakko Heinonen on vocals, with Toni Raukola shredding the guitar, Eetu Lehtinen on bass, and Lauri Pikka on drums to round out the band.
This is sludge black stoner doom metal at its finest. Heavy riffing and harsh vocals with an electric display of ambient moments make this album stand out from the pack. Demonic Death Judge‘s third full-length release ‘Seaweed’ was released early in 2017 through Suicide Records. It maneuvers gracefully through brutal swells and coastal sunshine on a hazy day. There’s a reason these crazy bastards have the most official air guitar competition in the world.
“Taxbear” is a heavy-handed opener and “Cavity” proves the band can soar in terms of sheer beauty. “Backwoods” anchors the album to the bottom of the ocean floor with wild guitar soloing, heavy breakdowns, and additional folk instrumentation for good measure.
The sound Demonic Death Judge creates occupies a perfect piece of doom real estate between the old and new guards of the genre. They have the dark, traditional Sabbath-Esque heavy metal grooves that you need to hear, with just enough experimental sludgeoned moments to draw in a newer audience looking for a little more diversity.
‘Seaweed’ Tracklist:
01. Taxbear
02. Heavy Chase
03. Seaweed
04. Cavity
05. Backwoods
06. Pure Cold
07. Saturnday
08. Peninkulma
Mixed and mastered by Sami Latva at The Coughing Room, ‘Seaweed’ is an album that has that undeniable likability factor to it. Heavy metal/ doom/ sludge/ and ambient stoner metal all play an equal role in making this an unforgettable release. A lot of bands only master certain elements of doom metal, but ‘Seaweed’ is the total package.
It is rumored that in the 1800s a thief named Herkko Rosvo-Ronkainen would storm out of the forest with a band of marauders and steal anything he saw fit for taking. That included women. The dude would literally pick up other men’s wives and sprint away with them.
To combat this and equal the playing field, the men of Finland invented ‘The Wife Carrying Competition’ to honor and safeguard their women. You can’t make shit like that up. Click that link if you think I’m lying. Remember people, this is the place that gave us Finntroll. Respect that.
DEMONIC DEATH JUDGE, from Finland. Listen to them, or they’ll steal your damn wife.
You can order the Demonic Death Judge ‘Seaweed’ on CD, vinyl record, or Digital download via the band’s Bandcamp or Webstore sites, or through Suicide Records.
