Brånd – Demo 2015 [Austria, Raw Black] (2015)

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Voidland Shelter | 7-15-15

Voidland Shelter | 7-15-15

Woah. My goodness. There are many things that weigh n the 2015 demo by Brånd. First of all is the realization that a raw black demo from austria made it way through so many obstacles to be appreciated by a modicum of people. Secondly come from the fact that Brånd’s music is cosmetically inaccessible from its photocopied cassette cover to its low fidelity which sounds like a swirling cloud of noise. If one is familiar with black metal as a style, it takes only a few second to realize more things which are happening beneath the surface. I still do not know how this demo made it so high on the Bandcamp list but I am guessing it has something to do with its veiled accessibility.

One of the more interesting aspects of Brånd is that despite the band having all the visual and tonal aesthetics of raw black, the tempo and pace of their 2015 is more akin to punk and even really noisy gothic rock. This takes nothing away from the music as the crooning and downtuned descent into thick noise is nothing less than entertaining as much as it is surprising. throughout this 20 minute fall, a sense of catharsis seems to emanate from everyone involved. If this band never makes another record again, it will be upsetting but completely understandable as their debut demo is enough to pique interest for quite awhile.

One of the more humorous aspects of Brånd is that there is a black/death act from Sweden which shares the same name just without the accent. I find it interesting that I now know two bands by the name of “Brand” where as yesterday I knew none. At the moment all 50 copies of the band’s demo as sold out. I am still taken aback where and how this particular release got so much support. Perhaps it is just more and more blogs being surprised at its very nature.