Domain - Pandemonium

DOMAIN - Pandemonium (OLD TEMPLE - CD 2018)

The history says that in 1995 when Pandemonium was getting ready to record their second album, they decided to force drummer Żuber to leave the band and replace him with Carol from Imperator. But Żuber has officially registered the name Pandemonium for himself, so they couldn’t use it anymore! The second album was meant to be called "Domain", so now Pandemonium turned into Domain and the album is called "Pandemonium". Morbid Noizz Productions released it, but I never had a chance to grab a CD copy of it, I only had the old cassette. So, I'm quite glad that Old Temple Records has re-released it and I can add it to my CD collection. Also because they did great job with this reissue (some old interviews in the booklet - all in Polish though - plus lyrics, nice golden disc..). 

This is not my favourite Domain album, I like "...from Oblivion" definitely more. But "Pandemonium" is also an excellent piece of music and I still enjoy it after all those years. Very slow paced, almost repetitive in some aspects, yet obscure, vicious black metal (or dark metal as it used to be called) with that evil, eerie atmosphere, which works so damn well. This music may seem a bit simplistic at times, quite one dimensional, but I think that it evokes an interesting hypnotizing feel, which puts listeners in certain mood that is rather rare these days. Still though, everything sounds harsh, obscure, but powerful and mystical. You could compare Domain music to Celtic Frost, Samael (the most obvious comparison, I think), Christ Agony, but I dare to say that Paul and company managed to create their own style also. "Pandemonium" is good album, definitely. There are ten tracks here, which include "Hagia Sophia" from old "Devilri" demo and more atmospheric pieces like "Immemorial Legend". For me the best are songs like “Mirror of Hate” and "Sword into Heart of Lies", but the whole album is damn solid, even if it can sound a bit archaic these days. But personally, I like that harshness and atmosphere of it. Good idea for this reissue then! 

Standout tracks: "Blood of God", "Sword into Heart of Lies", "Hagia Sophia", “Mirror of Hate” 

Verdict: 70/100