Review by Felix on May 10, 2019.

Whenever my grandma (R.I.P.) heard that a young lady had become unintentionally pregnant, she smiled knowingly and said: "Nature always finds its way." That's true, but I like to add: whenever I hear rasping, sometimes galloping guitars, a rushing snare and more or less raw vocals, I smile contently, think of my grandma and say: "Speed metal always finds its way". In the case of Victim of Fate, this way has led to another continent. The dudes hail from Mexico and do what all newcomers (should) do: they play the music they like and due to the fact that they act very tightly, this demo does not sound amateurish in any way. Even the production does not originate from a dusty cellar. Of course, I don't listen to a professional sound, but it would be unfair to set the bar too high. The three tracks are presented with a more or less proper amount of pressure and the guitars dominate without marginalizing the contributions of bass, drums and vocals. And so, coming back to my grandma, the band can be proud of its first baby.

Victim of Fate have a good grasp of compact compositions and maybe the solid riffs that carry the songs are just the harbinger of something greater. Speculations aside, the riffs guarantee a more than acceptable level and especially "Wiredslave" has a raw, aggressive touch that fits the musical approach very well. Furthermore, its solo hits the mark - no doubt, the guitar work marks the greatest asset of the band. The vocals leave room for optimization, because they just accompany the six strings without leaving their own aroma. But this is not to say that they reveal major deficiencies. Better still, the entire demo is free from serious flaws. I don't know how much time it took to record the songs in this form, but the result is convincing.

Frankly speaking, this material whets the appetite for more and I hope that Victim of Fate don't get lazy. Maybe they can convince 50% of the citizens of Mexico City to buy this demo - this should be motivation enough to go on. But jokes aside, even if this is not possible, they can count on the support of the underground metal maniacs worldwide. Victim of Fate will not unhinge the world, but they deliver three songs that reflect the unbroken fascination of speed metal. And, as mentioned above, speed metal always finds its way. Ask your grandma, if you don't believe it.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on May 10, 2019.

Whenever my grandma (R.I.P.) heard that a young lady had become unintentionally pregnant, she smiled knowingly and said: "Nature always finds its way." That's true, but I like to add: whenever I hear rasping, sometimes galloping guitars, a rushing snare and more or less raw vocals, I smile contently, think of my grandma and say: "Speed metal always finds its way". In the case of Victim of Fate, this way has led to another continent. The dudes hail from Mexico and do what all newcomers (should) do: they play the music they like and due to the fact that they act very tightly, this demo does not sound amateurish in any way. Even the production does not originate from a dusty cellar. Of course, I don't listen to a professional sound, but it would be unfair to set the bar too high. The three tracks are presented with a more or less proper amount of pressure and the guitars dominate without marginalizing the contributions of bass, drums and vocals. And so, coming back to my grandma, the band can be proud of its first baby.

Victim of Fate have a good grasp of compact compositions and maybe the solid riffs that carry the songs are just the harbinger of something greater. Speculations aside, the riffs guarantee a more than acceptable level and especially "Wiredslave" has a raw, aggressive touch that fits the musical approach very well. Furthermore, its solo hits the mark - no doubt, the guitar work marks the greatest asset of the band. The vocals leave room for optimization, because they just accompany the six strings without leaving their own aroma. But this is not to say that they reveal major deficiencies. Better still, the entire demo is free from serious flaws. I don't know how much time it took to record the songs in this form, but the result is convincing.

Frankly speaking, this material whets the appetite for more and I hope that Victim of Fate don't get lazy. Maybe they can convince 50% of the citizens of Mexico City to buy this demo - this should be motivation enough to go on. But jokes aside, even if this is not possible, they can count on the support of the underground metal maniacs worldwide. Victim of Fate will not unhinge the world, but they deliver three songs that reflect the unbroken fascination of speed metal. And, as mentioned above, speed metal always finds its way. Ask your grandma, if you don't believe it.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Tomek on May 16, 2008.

Nowadays it is pretty hard to find a band that willfully plays music that is somewhat hard to digest, demands numerous listening sessions, or is very interesting. Most bands go for music that’s popular, gets played on the radio at the moment or is just plain, simple and will sell well. Dark Mass chose not to be one of those boring, copycat, uninteresting bands, and I must say that even though it took a while to get used to, their “Dark Mass Medium” became one of my favorite albums.

Sound was the first thing that I’ve noticed. It reminded me a little bit of the Eastern European thrash bands from 80’s. Most of them played very different tunes back then but sounded very similar to each other, simply because of the same studios/garages they’ve used. Ukrainians bring back the garage sound but musically they’re eons away from 80’s bands that I had in mind. I don’t know much about recording of this album, or people that were involved because information was not given to us, but listening to the album brought back some good memories of the bands I listened to growing up. First song on the album wouldn’t be my choice for an album opener but that doesn’t change the fact that after minute or so it got very interesting in a progressive way and kept me listening all the way to the end. Not only to the end of the song but to the end of the album. Very little space between the songs makes it virtually effortless but the real reason is how wonderfully fascinating, inspired and astounding this album simply is. I must mention here that there are NO vocals on this recording. I don’t know why they chose not to have a vocalist in their ranks, but it doesn’t stop them from delivering some most outstanding instrumental storytelling. Lots of excellent guitar shredding, plenty of amazing solos, keyboard intros, eerie backgrounds, classical guitar, piano, jazzy drums and rumbling bass are only some of many ingredients of this strange medium. What glues the whole thing together is the timing. Nothing is too long or too short; nothing is too fast or too slow. Guitars, drums, keyboard, bass all in perfect combination and amount. All balanced and mixed together in exquisite harmony.

I can’t ever get bored with this record. Every spin gives me something new, something I’ve missed before or something that was kept in a background and comes out after few listens. Every time this album ends I just sit there waiting for next song that isn’t there. I can’t stop myself from pressing play again and try to find more and more that’s been hidden from me. Whenever “Dark Mass Medium” ends I have a feeling of something overlooked or missed, I have a constant feeling that I need to listen to it again. For me this album ends way too quickly. It’s my only complaint.

Categorical Rating Breakdown:

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Originality: 7
Production: 7
Overall: 8

Rating: 7.6 out of 10