Metal from Poland; in most cases that means either primitive black metal or Morbid Angel/Vader influenced death metal. Therefore, when I received Deneb’s demo A Path Without Destination and spotted a black/white cover I expected nothing less than inspirationless crappy black metal.
Luckily Deneb proved to be not that easily categorized; as they play a black/death metal combination that’s not heard that often.

After the obligatory keyboard-with-eerie-noises intro Deneb kicks off with the track “Phoenix” and it is immediately clear that the studio they’ve used to record is not the most expensive. The production is certainly much better than most black metal releases but it can only be described as a real demo production. This is not a reason to bash the band but in, for instance the Netherlands, band‘s cannot afford to release a recording with such a sound anymore; but maybe that’s different in Poland, I don’t know.

The good things are that every instrument is clearly audible but the mix could have been better.

As far as the music goes; the combination of black and death metal is pleasant to listen to and the occasional Slayer riff doesn’t hurt either. Singing is also very varied ranging from brutal grunts to more blackish screams. Sadly, the man responsible for the vocals (Wojtas from Moulded Flesh) has left the band already so it remains to be seen if this material can be reproduced live.

Deneb is certainly not Poland’s next metal revelation but these guys produced an enjoyable demo that should give them enough recognition to move ahead in the underground.