Sometimes, there are chances that demos can surprise you while at other times they make you wish that you never put it on your stereo in the first place. Black Cloud's nondescript demo (in the most classic of terms), with its hand made heavy cardstock cover and barely visible cover image and homemade feel, falls squarely in the former category. Even though I had no prior experience with the band before hearing this demo, Black Cloud seem to reach back to a time when the scene was less commercial and more from the heart.
With vocals that remind of Brian Dingledine of Catharsis and Requiem notoriety, Black Cloud crashes through my headphones. During the best moments on this demo, the band reminds me of Catharsis, bits of Integrity (though so did Catharsis), maybe a smidge of Left for Dead, and possibly even a tad of Gehenna, while at other times, Black Cloud can sound like any other random hardcore band out there. Still, the fast and energetic songs on this demo scream through in short order without wearing on your ears. Even though some of the playing is on the sloppy side, the demo does not suffer from it but maybe sounds a bit more passionate as a result. And there are several bright spots here that make this demo successful. There is a series of bass guitar notes that for some reason really sticks out and adds character to the blistering track that is "False Positive." While the ending of "Lost and Forgotten" is a strange outro for the song (somehow it could work given a better recording because in this state the distortion overtakes the chords quite a bit).
The recording of Black Cloud's demo is very raw sounding, and the talking before some of the tracks as well as the abrupt manner in which some of the songs cut off, give the feel of old hardcore demo tapes (a nostalgic memory is triggered by the production). For a five-song demo, this is not terrible; Black Cloud uses this demo to show that they have some potential. Given a bit stronger songwriting on their part and tightening up the arrangements (as well as their performances), Black Cloud could push themselves to the next level. Then again, there are bands that sound perfect the way that they are with similar attributes on their records.
