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Somehow in my mind this was a Black Metal band. Well, it's actually a Death Metal band, so there. ;) The first thing one notices is how raw and somewhat bad-sounding this is at times: It makes sense, it's a demo. Despite this, one can still recognise the good stuff behind the low budget recording. All the standard Death Metal elements are there - the guitars and drums have that DM signature that has been used and reused by just about every technical and brutal Death Metal bands in recent years, and the deep low growls are also present, thankfully not of the "I'm puking the lyrics" variety. In that respect, Martial Barrage aren't inventing anything, but they do get the job done right. The addition of some interludes and sound effects (not electronic crap) with some spoken passages here and there do help make things more interesting as well.

Despite lacking a bit of originality (and it's becoming increasingly difficult to really blame most bands for this), "Hail the Valkelion" is quite an enjoyable demo that is anything but boring. With a few more songs of the same caliber and a better recording, these guys could have a full length album that would be worth taking a look at. Seasoned DM listeners looking for the next "original" big thing will have to look elsewhere. But many DM fans will still get a kick out of this demo.