As children in America, we are taught that Russia is very large, but everybody lives in one crowded city, wears furry hats, and drinks isopropyl alcohol all day long. When I, as a child, would raise my hand and ask the teacher "Why? Wouldn't it make sense to move out of the big city and go somewhere else if the country is so huge?", the teacher would respond with "Because Russia is retarded and backwards. They light themselves on fire when they get invaded and they have nuclear missles pointed at America, so they suck". Times may have changed, but Tiran seems like the heavy metal representation of the angry, drunk, nonsensical Russian that the wonderful public school system in Illinois taught me as a child.
In a word, Demonia is just downright dirty. You can practically visualize the flakes of dirt and dead skin fluttering off in every direction while the band and all their fans headbang in unison. The riffs are all straight up, Sodom influenced thrash (which comes as no surprise considering the third track, "S.O.D.O.M.") covered in mud. There aren't any studio tricks at work, so you'll hear the honest style of a three piece on this record (no dueling harmonies or guitar riffs under a solo, for example, just one guitar all the time), and as such the bass is a little more prominent than usual for the lo-fi thrash sound. The production is very raw and filthy, with a very distorted low end and thick wall of sound. The problem is that, while the sound is good enough for the low tier thrash style, the music doesn't do enough to keep the listener interested. I'm aware that this is thrash, and thrash was never a thinking man's music, but this is difficult to just headbang for a half hour to. Sure, "Kult Trupa" and "S.O.D.O.M." have some interesting riffs and "Provokator" is really sick when the tempo shoots up, but the record on the whole just kind of waltzes in one ear and out the other. Percussion does little to spice things up and the vocals don't do too much to distract from the typically boring instrumentals. What this leaves is a very middle-of-the-road, yet very primal, thrash record. Don't get me wrong though, attitude is definitely where the band excels. Tiran sounds like they light their audience on fire at every show, just to prove they aren't fucking around. They sound like they probably start every morning with a double shot of vodka chased with a slightly weaker vodka. In other words, Tiran is precisely that brutish Russian stereotype that little American children become familiar with thanks to the propaganda footage and Disney cartoons.
Demonia will most likely never become a staple in your listening cycles, but it's a fun filler record that you can churn through once a year just to show off your knowledge of obscure thrash to your friends I guess... if you're into that sort of thing. "Panika" and "Tvari" are the best tracks here, and I think that Tiran could work their way up the thrash ladder if they expand on the fury showcased in those two tracks above all the rest. Otherwise it's fairly pedestrian, forgettable thrash, albeit with a vicious attitude. Tiran write big, stupid, drunk, and pissed off thrash, which is quite good in itself, but it seems they're a little bit too inebriated and can't quite write a fantastic riff as a result.
RATING - 62%
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