When I was growing up, Music seemed like a place for the elite. It was some impossible thing to make it in, because only the best of the best made it. Then again, I barely knew what a concert was. I didn't know about production, I didn't even know there was a underground at all. But, here I am all these years late and experiencing some hard hitting stuff put out by the likes of a sole person. Man, technology and creativity is at an all time high these days, sadly so is saturation, but that is besides the I point right? I'm here to review what the good people put out there, and today I've got the chance to look at Haiduk's solo effort 'Demonicon'.

I've got to admit, I was a bit worried about Haiduk's album. Seeing a lone e-mail, no PR, nothing, sometimes makes me weary. Not to say all of the bands that contact me this way are terrible, no, but some are very newly formed and very green when it comes to recording music. Therefore their intended sound doesn't exactly come through as intended. But, pleasantly, Haiduk seems to know his stuff. Good stuff too. There is a speed to this whole album that I simply love, paired with a level of aggression that reminds me of a lot of 90's era Death. It's almost leaning towards thrash in a way, as most everything has a breakneck speed to it. A lot of artists and bands have tried to achieve this over the years, but Haiduk seems to have effortlessly captured the attitude and atmosphere required to recreate what made those groups great in their time. Demonicon has reminded me that deathmetal can be fast, aggressive, and energetic without sacrificing it's darker subject matter – or becoming grind.

I'm a little hard pressed to find something I don't honestly like here. Perhaps the vocals aren't the best I've heard in the genre, they could be somewhat better, or a little more variety could be provided along the way. I'm not talking melo-death or anything, but for all the aggressive and thought put into the composition, these vocals don't ever seem to feel as interesting or, even emotional, as the music itself. And, by emotion I don't mean like love or sadness or anything, deathmetal vocals are capable of conveying all manor of emotion. These really have no spice to them at all. The apparent blackened inclusions of Demonicon are scant at best. I didn't feel that there was enough 'blackmetal' in this to even call it blackened, especially seeing as traditional deathmetal can be unnervingly dark at times. On a musical level, I guess you could say the bit of speed, and tremolo picking sections could be considered blackened, but that's been more and more a part of deathmetal for a while now. None of this is enough to consider any part of Demonicon bad, or anything.

So, thank you Haiduk for making me aware of your album Demonicon. The perseverance of the underground continues to surprise and astonish me, not a day goes by that I don't discover something new or surprising these days simply through the tireless work of artists trying to get their music out there. I mean, sure, not everything is great and not everything is memorable. Sometimes, though, the right person hears it and things seem to click. Demonicon, I think, will click for a lot of people – especially death metal fans, and maybe even thrash fans. It's certainly clicked for me.