Deity Down (2009)
Finally, something I can sink my ears into with pure bliss that can only come from contact with a quality Melodic Death Metal! Devious play music in the vein of early Darkane, Gorefest and Gardenian with hints of latter era Death with some symphonic flavors.
The album starts with a very melodic intro that reminds me of Opeth, which is actually a part of the first song, not a track in itself. Quick, short bursts of melody in a brutal, Tech Death casing remind me now of Ulcerate, now of Death. The compositions are very catchy, balanced with just enough melody and some symphonic passages inter-woven throughout the album. I say compositions, not songs, because almost all of them have no chorus-verse structure. Sure, Devious focuses on melody and structure, but their compositions are a very unique build.
Most of all, they drop a motherfucking masterpiece of a song (the only verse-chorus track) with the absolutely amazing “Respiration of Fear”. A symphonic, epic intro subsides to a very “The Jester Race” (In Flames) riff, then the first chorus builds up, exploding in one of the most beautiful, innovative and catchiest choruses this side of “Haven” (Dark Tranquility). A layer of a harmonious guitar melody is paired with keyboard background and female operatic voice, all at once. Needless to say, the best track on “Vision”. It is a clear standout, and although the whole album is great and very impressive, none of the other songs are this good. The rest of the album bears a mark of a latter era Death (“Abide, Predefined”) and the vocals remind me of Gorefest or Living Sacrifice from Inhabit, they are so guttural.
Devious’ style of composing breathes life into the genre that is beginning, with a few exceptions, to eat its own tail. I think they set a blueprint for where the metal music needs to go next: away from the verse-chorus predictability and focusing more on the compositions themselves, packing it with many hooks and melodies. Kind of like on the recent Insomnium. There must also be a fair balance of brutality and melody. Too much of either one renders metal a joke, in my opinion.
As for “Vision”, it gets better with every spin. It is a very multifaceted record, yet instrumentally stunning. Thankfully, there is (almost) no clean vocals (except for the shouts in “Validate”). Let’s keep it that way. I have but two gripes which take away from the score a little bit: 1. The album could use a little more hooks and melody, like in “Respiration of Fear”, and 2.the album feels a little short with only 8 tracks. But I am sure that these are issues that will be adequately addressed and tweaked on the next record. This is the third album of this Dutch band and “Vision” makes me want to seek out its predecessors.
Overall, very impressive, excellent stuff, the first pleasant surprise in the recent promo batch. I will definitely follow up on these guys’ progress. They could, and may they be, huge with the right promotion and support.
P.S. Dear reader, if you could listen to but one new metal song, make it Respiration of Fear. You’ll be glad you did.
www.devious.nl
www.deitydownrecords.com
Composed by Dethster4life