DUAL-COMA „Program H.A.T.E. (Demo)”

Music: Melodic Death Metal
Website: http://www.dualcoma.pl
Country: Poland
Cool songs: Blood Drunk, Chain Reaction, Parabellum, Program H.A.T.E.

Polish market is a phenomenon, hard to understand even for Poles (or maybe mainly by them). To reach something here (e.g. a career) is almost a miracle, because it does not matter if you have talent, a gift… it depends on the thickness of your wallet. What is more, you need to be obedient towards your manager or label – doing things according to their instructions guarantees a contract (not always success), not paying attention to their bullshit costs you staying in the underground. And that is why Poland has probably got one of the biggest and better developed underground metal scene.

It happens so, that DUAL-COMA is a part of it, and it is not an exception. Those guys show in what direction will the Polish metal scene evolve in close future. “Program H.A.T.E” is their second album, being a second demo, at the same time. The biggest drawback of this release is the fact, that it is not full-length material. The point is, that the compositions are amazingly good. The opening “Blood Drunk” is a technical masterpiece, starting with very fleshy riffs, supported by a fast’n’furious solo. The rest of the tracks go even farer. The whole is kept in a fantastic, ‘meaty-like’ convention of a slaughterhouse – the riffs are perfectly fleshy, the rhythm guitar works like a minehunter tank, smiting everything on its way. The new motifs just blow up into the air under its heavy mine plough. But the lead guitar is yet another story, and what the two brothers do with the guitars can be compared to a craft-miracle. The spellbinding solos stay in the head and hammer from one hemisphere to another hours after the listening. To understand this phenomenon, just listen to fantastic “Constellations” and you will see what I mean.

The material is extremely varied – motifs chop and change and no damn thing repeats. Such rhythm guitar riffs often consist of two, sometimes even three motifs, but here there are different ones in every track. The very vicious one in “Parabellum” behaves like a washing machine’s drum – it heavily goes round and round, creating hypnotic reaction. And then things take an unexpected turn, as new pace appears, new motifs attack like a pack of wolves, the music is totally unpredictable. The musicians deliberately mix styles, so that the sound stays fresh and is completely different than other Polish (and not only) death metal productions. The music is embellished with thrash elements (the group’s early inspiration), power and melody of heavy metal, especially audible in solos (marvellous guitar work). Not to mention the ultra-superb drums, which are real killers. Such sound and kick I have not heard for ages – Senator is the best man in charge here. The fills are diligently chosen, so the music is completely coherent, what is more, there is no fucking way of getting bored during listening. There is that damn tension… you just wait and wonder what will attack you in a moment. DUAL-COMA are masters of suspense, just like Alfred Hitchcock, building it upon shattered motifs. Death metal would not exist without fleshy growl, and here, there is one, of better quality. It is not superb, sometimes sounds quite constrained, but still it is able to move all the furniture around the room.

All the elements are combined in such a way, that they create a fantastic butcher’s symphony – the swaps transitions are so smooth that it is almost impossible to notice any. This music has got something in it, and that “something” is its very modern, innovative, unpredictable and authentic power, force which will guide the musicians through the uneasy meanders of Polish music business.

DUAL-COMA have shown, that it is possible to play very modern and rich death metal in Poland. Their catchy, out of the ordinary compositions hammer around the head for hours. Extremely developed melodic sections kick ass, and the almost primeval power crushes the balls and makes the listener scream in pleasurable [sic!] agony. This pain is really sweet, the music is really worth it. And one last thing – if a demo by DUAL-COMA sounds and looks (very cool cover art) like that, prepare for an extreme orgasm, when they finally release their debut long play. I hope, that this will not last long, as there is a rumour that the guys are working on a single.

[If you want to hear what DUAL-COMA sound like, visit their official site – there is also an English version – and download their albums for free]

note: 9.5/10

Tracklist

1. Blood Drunk
2. Nuclear Lost
3. Constellation
4. Chain Reaction
5. Parabellum
6. Stand By
7. Program H.A.T.E.
8. Zero

Total playing time 38:20

Line-up

Maciej ‘Czubaka’ Szmatloch – vocals, guitars
Bartek ‘Szwagier’ Szmatloch – guitars
Leszek ‘Lechoo’ Trzaska – bass, additional vocals
Paweł ‘Senator’ Nowak – drums