A couple of Finns and a lot of black metal spirit can have tremendous results, and lo and behold, Malignament are born. Self-released in October last year and given a limited cassette release in November and a forthcoming vinyl release at the end of January, there's buzz around Demo I and no, it's not because of the title! Pure and old-school with a welcome touch of melody, Malignament have been in existence for less than a year but already are showing that they know what makes for good black metal. Opener Call to Arms is a trilling yet melodic and even epic at points song driven by the pounding drums and nicely Swedish-style riffage, not unlike old Watain with a solid late-track breakdown opening it up for a clean vocalled-passage slightly buried by the production; things are not quite perfect yet, but this band immediately proves that it has promise.

This is continued by the almost Dissection-esque assault of Wolf and The Moon, built on melodic riffage and a solid blackened undertow, keeping your attention well and feeling like a track from ten, if not twenty years ago. And finale Bloodlust goes a little rawer and blunter, if no less epic thanks to the guitars. Sure, the effect is muffled thanks to the production, but you can tell the bones of something special are developing, if Malignament can avoid repetition and finesse things a little further. And hell, even their choice of skeletal horse cover art is impressive. Here's to Malignament, a name to watch for and the best demo 2020 has provided yet! Listen to (and buy) this at the Bandcamp link above.