TAPHOS – Demo MMXVI & EP MMXVII CD (Digi)

TAPHOS' first two recordings on one CD, simply entitled Demo MMXVI & 7″ EP MMXVII. A young Danish death metal band hailing from the same scene as Undergang and Phrenelith, TAPHOS create a classic – and classically gutted – style of Metal of Death. Their first recording, Demo MMXVI, was indeed recorded in 2016, to be followed a year later by the two-song EP MMXVII. The demo, in particular, possessed a darkly thrashing sound highly reminiscent of turn-of-the-'90s death metal on both sides of the Atlantic, as resolutely Scandinavian as it was American; its filthy propulsion is as palatably fresh as it is authentically ancient. On the subsequent EP, TAPHOS' sound becomes more world-eating, their songwriting aims more epic whilst not losing the raw fury of their beginnings. Together, these six songs are an auspicious start as any.