CD: Satanic Black Devotion
Date: 07/22/03
Reviewer: Fenrir from Metalwhore.com
Review:
Track Listing:
01. Preludium
02. Satanic Black Devotion
03. Obire Pestis
04. Frowning, Existing
05. Glorification
06. Panzergod
07. Black Fucking Murder
08. Sargeist
09. Returning to Misery & Comfort
Lowdown: Yes, yes, yes. This is an album I have been waiting for for awhile. Here is an album that fans of Beherit and other such bleak, raw, underground black metal will be happy to find. Made up of members of Horna, Pest, and Behexen, (Shatraug, Torog, Horns) and hailing from Finland. These nine tracks are seriously just straight up evil. Recently released here in the states, Satanic Black Devotion features very dark, numbing riffs, pulsing drums and vocals that literally sound like torture. It's the band's first full album (they have had a few demos and a 7"), and I will tell you already this is well, well, worth it. Very underground here. This is not for anyone who has any inhibitions about their music, I will say that. Fans of the more polished black metal will be taken aback by this, but those who wish to delve more into the underground...well, yeah. Ok, I guess I have heaped enough praise on one album already, hmm? Onto the review. It opens with Preludium, which is pretty much just an intro of chilling screams soft in the background...getting you ready for the darkness...the first full track, Satanic Black Devotion, opens and sticks with a more mid pace, with a simple, but chilling riff and pounding drums. The guitars have a fuzzy tone in the background, behind the not so distorted frontal string assault. The tones played are very beautiful in that way of seeing someone's throat being cut is...erm, yeah...the vocals, here, as I said...torment. It sounds like he is getting tortured in the studio as he sings this...wow. They are unforgettable...The song keeps up its basic pace...adding an odd howl here and there in the background underneath the screams. Yes, it repeats a lot but it's nearly freaking perfect. The cleaner riffs played a little more than 3 minutes in are awesome. It simply sets the stage for the rest of the album. It picks up a bit, with the drums picking up a little bit of speed and the vocals growing deeper and more demonic for a bit...the simple riff echoes in your brain. Ending off with the lower vocals was a nice touch, the song is a little over five and a half minutes long, ends sort of suddenly, taking you into Track 3, Obire Pestis (Suicidal Ruin), is short, at less than three minutes but the vocals are once again pure blackened genius. Again, the layer the cleaner guitars over the fuzzy distortion and the primitive drumming...and it does work well, while yes, it's reminiscent of other things, it is still managing to carve it's own niche. You can almost picture a tortured soul screaming up to the sky in a dark castle somewhere with this voice!!! Again, it's a short but sweet track...and it takes you into track 4, Frowning, Existing...which, IMO...has some of the most tormented, intense vocals I have ever heard before in a song. The screams will nearly freeze your blood solid. Imagine someone being flayed alive. That sort of comes close. Again, it sticks with a more mid pace, picking up some speed, and it keeps with their formula of fuzzy guitars under those clean...and the riffs in this one are also very, very, nice. They have a soft echo to them, which works perfectly with the screams..the drums stay pretty driving, with a few little switch ups here and there, but they know their duty, and that is to drive this machine of evil. Awesome, lonely riff about two and a half minutes in, combined with the vocals make you want to replay the song again right away. It lasts Lyrically, this is extremely bleak, evil stuff...you have to read them for yourself. This song is one of the best on this album, hands down!! That riff...ahh, yes...well, track 5, Glorification, begins with another anguished scream. This one starts out at a bit slower pace than the rest, going more mid. Another very desolate sounding clean riff driving this one...they have their formula. Here, the shrieks are just as tortured as ever...like a damned person screaming at their captors...the drums are basic and driving. The riff switches up a bit, and like all the other tracks, is very nice. It slows up a bit a couple minutes in and offers some deep, demonic talking in the background..., the guitars don't change too much, the riff switches up to another simple one, and the vocals keep with their shrieks...there is another small switchup at about three and a half minutes which brings the song slowly to its close. Something about this simple but effective guitar work that just leaves your hair standing on end. It ends fairly sudden, going into track 6, a much more up tempo track, Panzergod. What a nice title. While it keeps pretty raw, it is a lot faster than the rest of the songs. Sort of like the captured person is fighting back his religious captors and killing them. Which sounds good to me. Again, an excellent clean riff built over the thicker sounding distorted guitars, this song is a bit more full sounding. The vocals never deviate. Yes, you can picture the carnage in the castle dungeon here. Lyrically it's a LITTLE different than the picture I am painting, but I am letting the music talk in the descriptions. Then again, reading this one, yes, many christians seem to be dying here. It ends with a fade out...
Moving onto track 7, Black Fucking Murder, this one speaks for itself I think. About six minutes long (one of the slightly longer tracks), it's back to a more mid tempo and with more obvious cleaner over guitars here. Vocally it's similar to the last one, this guy isn't done stripping the skin from the christian captors and tearing out their eyes yet. It slows a little bit with a more basic drumbeat for the screams of "black fucking murder!", and the riff there is very cool...it sort of switches between these two speeds for this one. Yes, they keep with a lot of repetitive things but it doesn't take away from it at all. Again, this is for those fans who crave pure blackness here...a short instrumental interlude (with another riff that glues into your brain) leads into more screams of vengeance...at this point these religious nuts are sorry they went and tortured this guy I think, as their skins are probably hanging from the wall while he crushes the other's skulls in his hands as they cry for mercy...next up is track 8, Sargeist. The lyrics here are so bleak and cold...and it wastes no time bursting into the screams again...and once again...the simple riffs are just amazing. These guys can fucking compose a song. I think some bands could do well learning a thing or two here, who strive to go cold like this...but then again, Sargeist is Sargeist...but I digress again. More excellent layered guitars. I like this, as I said, a nice mix of distorted guitars in there that never overtake the bleakness of the clean ones. The longest song on this album at just about six and a half minutes, it's mournful...the enraged screams are still there, in spades, but it's overall, just FEEL is more empty, sad...a life wasted, almost, no comfort is found here. This is not warm, fuzzy stuff...this track is more mid paced, once again, like much of the album...while I love me some speed (look at some of my favorites), this doesn't need to be fast. Some more great riffing about five minutes in, with some nice effects added in there. A track like this just kinda pulls the plug on your heart and just drains everything out. The final track on this album, the aptly named Returning to Misery and Comfort, is about four and a half minutes long. Opening with a nice little drumming intro, it's actually a bit faster than a few of the other tracks. But still not blasting. The vocals take on a bit more torment here, rather than rage...well, a mix actually...and again, another desolate riff. At this point your will is being drained away and reading the lyrics with it simply hurry that along. This is misanthropy in it's purest form. This song, like the last, still manages to have the mourning in it, of a soul now dead with the body still alive. Whatever happened here (well, as I was saying above, the torture of the person, said person's shredding of a bunch of christians and now this) simply left them a husk. It slows up a little bit a couple minutes in..while, all the time, keeping the Sargeist sound. As the vocals damn everything left in the world that holds some semblance of joy to it the empty, sad riffs just sort of back up the fact that hope is now gone. Another slowdown in the last minute of the track just plays along while you sit there, any feeling left inside of you now drained away. Yeah. The album ends on that note...
Standout Tracks: Satanic Black Devotion, Black Fucking Murder and Frowning, Existing
Vocals: As said many times, they sound like torture is happening. Unspeakable torture. From the sheer unholy shrieks to blaspheming growls, these vox alone can desecrate holy territory. Which is my way of saying they are fucking awesome. They even chilled me, and I am pretty hardened at this point.
Guitars: Very bleak here. Never overly distorted, their slightly clean sound add an interesting touch to the album. It makes the album just sound...just more desolate overall. Like you are lost outside the temperature is dropping, and you cant find our way, as you slowly start to freeze to death. Yeah.
Bass: Not overly prominent, pretty basic overall. Just lays down some low end.
Drums: Tight and galloping, can get pretty fast but keeps it more mid paced. Not very technical, more primitive but it fits this style very well. This kind of black metal, the real technical drums don't fit as well IMO...so these work, and they are damn good, too, no fancy effects, but no beats missed. Tight.
Overall: For those looking for some extremely grim, raw, pure evil music, this cd is a must buy. It's not very long but it doesn't need to be. Go find this cd, it's out there. Order it online if you have to. This cd is genius in my humble opinion, and it keeps me going back for more. I haven't listened to a new cd this much since I bought World Funeral. A candidate for one of the top 10 albums of 2003. And I don't say that lightly.
Fenrir Rating: 9.5
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