The following promotional CD provides a comprehensive overview of DSR's latest releases, featuring one song from each of 12 bands (except Infernal Presence, see below for reason), with a total playing time of nearly 74 minutes. German band Infernal Presence kicks off the CD with their cold and frosty black metal song "Into the Obscure/Eternal Exodus", which is actually two songs in one. Both songs are from the band's 6-track debut EP, "Fiery Paths" (2025). Musically, the duo is heavily influenced by Norwegian hordes, especially Satyricon's early discography. The next band is Fessus from Austria. The quartet performs a song from their debut album, "Subcutaneous Tomb" (2025), called "Yizkor", which has a rather dark mood, with a so-called necrotic sound that is sure to kill. I would say that it combines really cool riffs reminiscent of Carcass with the ultra-slow, doom-laden elements of Asphyx. In a word: an exciting combination. The third track on the CD, "Dancing Dead", is performed by the Greek band Penthos and comes from their second full-length album, "Erevos" (2025). The quintet plays in the style of Scandinavian black metal bands, their attitude is fairly straightforward, but to be honest, their playing is sometimes very chaotic. Mouth of Madness follows them. The German duo and their song, "At the Heart of the Unknown", represent a very melodic approach to black metal, with excellent vocals. That's why I recommend everyone listen to their debut album, "Event Horizon" (2025), in all its glory. Another duo, this time from Sweden, Nattradio, tries to bring variety to this compilation, as their music is quite different from what we have heard so far, namely gothic rock, which is also quite experimental. From their second album, "The Longest Night" (2025), they grab our attention with the song "Alright for Now". In keeping with the unusual tone, Azketem's song "End It All" continues in a sort of pop-influenced black metal vein. This somewhat confusing and strange composition comes from the German one-man band's third album, "Amid" (2025). Track 7, "Sarkophag", is the longest, at over 11 minutes. It is performed by a German five-piece band called Gorleben and comes from their second album, "Menetekel" (2025). Their music is quite avant-garde and atmospheric, mixing many styles, but perhaps black metal elements predominate, and the combination of male growls and female screams is very intriguing, at least in my opinion. The cult Czech black metal experimenters Master's Hammer continue with the song "Genesis P. Orridge" from their latest album, "Maldorör Disco" (2025). And, as expected, this song is no exception to their strange musical ideas. Next up are the merchants of gore death metal, Ossuary. The American trio continues to spread their sick death metal recipe in the song "The Undrownable Howl of Evil", which comes from their debut album, "Abhorrent Worship" (2025). With track 10, we return to the black metal genre with German one-man band Cromlech, who perform the song "Ice Curse" from their second album, "Of Owls and Eels" (2025). The keyboard parts are very atmospheric and slightly in the foreground, but the Scandinavian-style guitar riffs and rather harsh screams give the song the desired cold atmosphere. The Swedish band Hersir promotes a blend of primordial yet monotonous black metal, with keyboards creating the atmosphere in the background, while striving for simplicity. Their song is titled "Walking the Way of Giants" and is from their debut album, "Hateful Draugar from the Underground" (2025). The last and 12th song on the CD comes from the German quartet Obsidian Scapes and is titled "Endless Sea of Dead Mirrors". This song is from the band's debut album, "Death Chants Echo from Aphotic Void" (2025), and features a mix of doom and death metal with epic clean vocals. In summary, I would just like to add that DSR deals with really interesting underground bands/releases, so it will be worth keeping an eye on them in the future!!!

Deamonolith hails from Poland. Musically, the five-piece band plays a highly experimental and abstract brand of death metal that is both extreme and brutal, yet also rich in progressive elements. "The Monolithic Cult of Death" is their debut album, originally released on CD by Godz ov War Productions in 2024, followed by a vinyl release in 2025. What I have is a promotional copy released and distributed by the band itself. As for the members: the band consists of Kobuch (vocals), Sunrise (guitar), Major (guitar), Lukas (bass) and Desecrate (drums). They are all very experienced musicians who are also involved in other musical projects. Their repertoire, which lasts over 35 minutes, is divided into six parts and features numerous guests, including Lukasz Wypych on saxophone, Sebastian Swiciak and Magdalena Sienkiel on piano, as well as Anna Malarz and Michal "Xaay" Loranc on additional vocals and choirs respectively. The latter is also responsible for the incredibly demonic cover art. As is well known, Polish bands are known not only for their professional performances but also for their excellent sound quality. So Pawel "Janos" Grabowski, who was responsible for the recording, mixing, and mastering, delivered exactly what was expected – and did so with top-notch quality. Deamonolith's music is mostly about menacing soundstorms, but there are moments when they give in to their experimental tendencies, and these moments always come as a surprise. Nevertheless, it seems that their basic ideas were most influenced by Morbid Angel – at least that's what I've noticed at times. To be honest, I really liked their musical mix and experimentation, so needless to say, I'm personally eagerly looking forward to their next release. In the meantime, I recommend that everyone give Deamonolith's debut album a listen!

In recent years, a lot of early Dementor material has been reissued, but this particular reissue completes their early period in a triumphant way, which is definitely great news for all Dementor fans. So, how does this reissue differ from the others, you might ask? Well, first of all, this CD reissue focuses on the first two demos by the Slovak death metal legends, and second, we get to hear them in their original form, that is, without any editing or remastering. Their second demo has been reissued several times before, courtesy of Dark Symphonies and Nasphyr Records, but the first one is seeing the light of day for the very first time since its original release, so for that reason alone, this release is worth buying. The band's first demo is titled "Zánik Krestanstva", which means "The Extinction of Christianity" in English. It was recorded in February 1992 at the renowned Exponent Studio in Slovakia. The following members participated in the recording: René Blahušiak (guitar), Roman Lukác (guitar), Luboš Gazdík (bass) and Roman Gazdík (drums/vocals). The demo contained a total of nine tracks, clocking in at over 44 minutes, due to its strong thrash metal influences, the term "thrash/death metal" is the most accurate description of their music and sound. The lyrics were written in Slovak, and naturally, their drummer delivered them in the same language, using a growling voice. Musically speaking, I personally found that their songs were written largely in the style of Sepultura and Massacra, though the influence of early Krabathor also came to mind. One thing is certain: they've put together a definitely solid demo. Interestingly, they recorded their second demo – titled "Chorobná Nákaza" (which stands for "Morbid Infection" in English) – in the same year and at the same studio, but with a new, fifth member, Jaroslav Kyselica, who took over all the vocal duties. It is worth noting that the original version of the demo was sung in Slovak, but an English-language version was later produced. So the six tracks on this reissue of the second demo feature the original Slovak lyrics, which I think is really cool, considering that the English-language versions appeared on the other reissues. These six songs showcased classic, pure death metal, with a total running time of 26 and a half minutes. The 8-page booklet contains only the lyrics to the songs from the second demo, in both Slovak and English, as well as a history of the band's early days in both languages. It also includes some old photos and a new cover design, but don't worry: the back cover features the covers of the two original demos. Needless to say, I'm very happy to finally own these cult demos by Dementor in their original form. This is an essential release for any fan who loves this Slovak death metal legend!!!