There’s always a limit to how crazy you can make your sound before you become overly ambitious, biting off far more than what you can chew. Oftentimes, it results in a sound that can feel disjointed or as if it just needed a little bit more time in the oven before truly being ready for consumption with all of its textures, flavors, and aspects coming to fruition. Demon King could have easily fallen for such a pitfall. Already taking on quite a bit with technical death metal itself, it’s their blackened and melodic edge that has always made Demon King an interesting force not to be underestimated, and it’s in every way they’ve taken that to the next level with the eight sprawling tracks of “Death Knell”. Two words are all that you need to describe this sinister effort: singularly eviscerating!

From before the album even begins, the reputation of Demon King promises something grandiose and over-the-top yet never once missing any greatness in any area with the absolute entirety of “Death Knell” an ode to all that this what technical death metal and beyond can still become when it’s crafted by those with the vision, power, and the tenacity to truly make their creations completely their own. Demon King pulls this off in exquisite fashion. No sooner than once your hit play, “Death Knell” is an overwhelming ripper of an album that holds nothing back, leaves nothing on the table, nor offers so much as a single shred of mercy to those who are brought before the whirlwind that’s on full display from beginning to end. Even as we see Demon King expand their arsenal to become something all the more deadly and voracious without failing to continuously raise the bar, it’s the vocal performance that keeps on offering new surprises with every spin. Simply put, this is a record that’s as diverse and satisfying as it is unyielding and entrancing.

This is an effort that exemplifies what it means to truly evolve and become something else altogether. Demon King is an entity that we should all bow before. Everything about “Death Knell” is done to virtual perfection with this almost certainly the last stop for masterclass extreme metal of this ilk in 2025, and the competition isn’t even close. Where many might try to rise and become something more, Demon King has transcended beyond into the embodiment of graceful chaos and intensity.