1349 is a band that any black metal enthusiast has heard, most likely enjoyed, has a CD of and has gotten bored with. To start 1349 are not a great band, nor are they bad. They're really mediocre and even more boring than anything. I have been listening to black metal since I was a teenager, and 1349 was one of the first bands I got into. That's really all they're good for - getting angsty teens to listen to their music. They're the Slipknot of black metal. That being said, 1349's only good release was Hellfire. The release was solid, tight end, in your face black metal at it's finest. I find myself listening to it every once in a while and it's really just a fun listen more than anything.
Demonoir is a release that, to me, seems to be a bit of an overuse of the blast beat. Many bands do it, but mostly deathcore or metalcore. All I heard in the record was that frost was going at a steady 260 - 300 bpm rate. I couldn't hear much else. It was a huge annoyance. Now mind you, I prefer this to the release that came right before this (which was an astronomical shit upon black metal), Revolutions of the Black Flame, but that's not saying much. 1349 have not really changed that much. Ravn is still being a screechy cat, Frost is still being a drummer obsessed with his own speed. This band is really just an extension of Funeral and early Satyricon.
Guitar was stereotypical in this record. Either it focused on the chugga chugga riffs or the really fast paced, whiny black metal tremolo picking. It was just boring. For being a band that Tom Gabriel Warrior backs up, it's pathetic. I don't even know why he does to be honest. The bass is unheard of, hell its hard to even say they have a bassist. I looked into their songs and all the bassist does is sit back and play the same notes over and over the whole song in a really quiet fashion. Another stereotypical black metal thing this record hits on...
Another thing that pisses me off about this record is all the ambient tracks in it. Does every track REALLY need an intro? Of course not. That's an absurdity in music. It's just as bad as Nostradamus (Judas Priest, 2006). I can't really say that this record made me sit back and go "wow, that was great", nor can I say it made me retch for being so bad. All you can really do for this album is pass it up. It's an album on the lower side of black metal. Hell almost half the 1349 ones are. If you want a good black metal band that's still astounding in it's music go to Marduk or Urgehal. Both of the bands are basically the same principal in the music, been around longer, still kick ass. As I sit here, finishing off my pack of smokes, I just came to realize something. This release should have been 100% ambient. I mean at least the ambient pieces were good, but there were too many. If it was just an ambient piece (something like Ildjarn did) I'd be astounded, but this...this is boring.
Highlights: all the ambient pieces, none of the metal.