Dmonstrations, Night Trrors. Shock!

Allow me to name a new genre: obstacle-core. In obstacle-core, every band member comes up with a complicated part, and then they all play them at the same time. The parts interlock, maybe, sort of, but don’t really have any particular musicality. Doesn’t matter — they just get repeated until the next part of the song. You’ve probably seen obstacle-core bands before; I know I’ve seen plenty. They can be fun to watch, because the players are generally having fun, and because of the complexity, there’s usually a bit of energy, too. But somehow, when you take the records home, they never seem to have quite the same appeal.

Dmonstrations are definitely immersed in the obstacle-core style. To be fair, on Night Trrors. Shock! they do push their limitations every now and then, trying to give some atmosphere with broody horror-show screeching vocals, and some of their more abstract moments recall U.S. Maple, which isn’t a bad thing. And as with all obstacle-core bands, you can never fault them for not trying hard enough. But at the end of the record, all I can say is: “Well, that happened.” Live, I bet they kill, and if you haven’t heard as much of this stuff, it just might blow your mind. But this old bastard has heard enough.