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Twisted Tower Dire is a band that's never clicked for me, even when I've gone back to albums like The Isle of the Hydra which has gotten a lot of good reviews over the years. I don't know what it is, but when this demo version of their 2003 album, Crest of the Martyrs, came up in my review queue, I figured I'd see if maybe I just hadn't heard enough by them. Turns out I like this less than anything else I've heard from the band. I get why many fans like this band as their riffs and guitar tone are top-notch. "To Be a Champion" is a barnburner with the best chorus on the album and "The Reflecting Pool" is what Iron Maiden's "Still Life" should have been. It kicks ass with a great acoustic intro, weird lyrics, and a cool atmosphere. After those few highlights, I found the rest of Crest of the Martyrs Demos kind of dull and pointless despite the in-your-face production (these are demos, after all) and obvious energy. A lot of that has to do with the vocals, which I don't like at all. At times they are good, but at others the singer sounds like he is working very hard to stay in tune, especially on the high notes ("Infinitum," "Transfixed"). Maybe the finished versions are better, but if that is the case, it begs the question of why bother to release this collection of demos? I can't ever remember thinking, "I really wish I had an alternate release of an album I like with worse versions of all the songs." I guess if you are a die-hard TTD fan, this might appeal to you, but I think anyone else would be better off with the original.