by Greg Prato"Demiricous unleashes pure, unadulterated, high octane metal" is a description included in the press release that accompanies the 2007 release by Demiricous, Two (Poverty). Well, it turns out whoever penned that neat little summary is both a poet and a prophet, as the group's sophomore release is one mighty metallic beast full of anger, riffs, fury, bashing, fire, and hollering. With more and more up and coming metal bands of the early 21st century trying to get crafty and/or fancy, Demiricous harkens back to a time when you knew exactly what you were going to get from the latest Slayer or Pantera release (ah, remember those good ol' days?) -- straight ahead power thrash metal. Try to match the intensity of such delightful ditties as "Never Enough Road" and "Knuckle Eye" -- dare you. And when was the last time you heard a modern metal guitarist add some tasty wah wah to a solo (as heard here on "Language of Oblivion")? Demiricous is certainly not trying to reinvent the heavy metal wheel, but they sure are pros at their craft and Two (Poverty) is one sturdy testimony.