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Rating:
8.5 |
Djevel - Dødssanger
13 June 2011
01. Ingen vei tilbake
02. Djevelheim
03. Mørkefødt
04. Den gang kvinnene brant
05. Djevelslatt
06. Paakallelsen
07. Vi malte verden i sort
08. Paktens ende; I Satans eie
So this is a Norwegian black metal band called Djevel. Djevel means devil in Norwegian…
And this review has commenced writing itself.
But wait. Listen. This ain't your grampap's Norwegian black metal. Nor is it your, like, little brother's burst-beat filled exercise in masturbatory, like, like, musical interpretations of 200 level metaphysics, like, coursework, y'know? This is some simple, unpretentious, and, above all, energetic modern black metal we got here. And it's a fun listen.
Some of the tracks on this are brilliant. "Djevelheim", in particular. Really, my most significant gripe with Dødssanger has to do with its Slushy consistency. And I do mean Slushy. The crucial bands in Norwegian black metal's formative years captured the aural essence of ice blocks. Fucking titanic ice blocks. Djevel captures the ice too—particularly on "Djevelheim"--but fails to keep it sufficiently refrigerated. And by the end of the album you're left with a colorful, half-melted pile of sweet slush. Colorful because of the sheer amount of riff, vocal, and drum variation on this, sweet because of the sheer amount of successful hooks and eerie melodies, principally those on "Djevelheim".
"Djevelheim" is suh-weeet.
Thing is, the flavorful moments don't fully distract from the number of, as a kriegier Martin Amis might put it, toe-stubs and elbows poking out on this. The spoken-word/shout parts, for example, are overdone and annoying. Another example: after a killer riff or five, some of the slower, more chugging riffs seem boring. And they have a tendency to go on and on. And on. Dødssanger] has a weak record when it comes to trance-inducement. And they try to channel ze Burzum too much. They need to realize that, when they ignore their inner-Vikernes, they sound good. When they indulge it, they sound slightly above average at best.
But, when Dødssanger is cold, it's glacially cold. Face-freezing riffs? Check. Appendage-numbing vocals? Check. Dizzying, brain-freezing variation and energy? Check, check. Despite some annoying moments and questionable song structures, this album is definitely a noteworthy black metal release. And it's Djevel's debut! So keep your eye on these guys. |
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Comments
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| Hahaha. Definitely your best one yet. The "masturbatory" link like, like, like cracks me up. |
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| I still don't get black metal. It remains the only genre of which I don't have at least one band I like. It has to be mixed pretty heavily with another genre because straight black just sounds terrible to me. I will admit however that "Djevelheim" is infinitely more listenable than some of the crap I try. |
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Written by Pyramid God on 14.07.2011 at 07:33
I still don't get black metal. It remains the only genre of which I don't have at least one band I like. It has to be mixed pretty heavily with another genre because straight black just sounds terrible to me. I will admit however that "Djevelheim" is infinitely more listenable than some of the crap I try.
If you want to try getting into black metal, you should probably try listening to some of the more basic or catchier bands. As much as people rip on them, Dimmu Borgir isn't a bad place to start for someone getting into black metal. Try Immortal's 'Sons of Northern Darkness' album too. |
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Written by Doc Godin on 14.07.2011 at 07:18
Hahaha. Definitely your best one yet. The "masturbatory" link like, like, like cracks me up.
Thanks. You should read his manifesto next/ |
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| An interesting review... will definitely check this one out |
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| Songs like "Mørkefødt" make me think way more of Darkthrone, Satyricon and Taake rather than of Burzum |
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Written by Lokaeda on 14.07.2011 at 11:14
Songs like "Mørkefødt" make me think way more of Darkthrone, Satyricon and Taake rather than of Burzum
Good call. I didn't mean to suggest that they sound more like Burzum than those other bands, just that they do go for the Burzum-like trance thing more than they should. Could have made that clearer, I suppose. |
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Written by wormdrink414 on 14.07.2011 at 11:32
Written by Lokaeda on 14.07.2011 at 11:14
Songs like "Mørkefødt" make me think way more of Darkthrone, Satyricon and Taake rather than of Burzum
Good call. I didn't mean to suggest that they sound more like Burzum than those other bands, just that they do go for the Burzum-like trance thing more than they should. Could have made that clearer, I suppose.
huuum I see what you mean, yet I smell Satyricon's first album way more than some Burzum-like thingy there ^^ a matter of tastes I guess  |
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I think you overdid it a bit with the endless references to "ice", "cold", "freezing"... I'm going to make myself a hot cup of tea, now...  |
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bluegreengod - 15.07.2011 at 02:20
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Written by wormdrink414 on 14.07.2011 at 08:08
Written by Doc Godin on 14.07.2011 at 07:18
Hahaha. Definitely your best one yet. The "masturbatory" link like, like, like cracks me up.
Thanks. You should read his manifesto next/
I think we, like, have ourselves a new, like, Varg here, only, like, even more of a pretentious douche. If that's even, like, possible. Like. |
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| Yeah this review is humorous, i have to agree with wormdrink on this album... Although there are some weak parts the rest are cold enough to send that distinct chill up your................ |
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Written by Slayer666 on 16.07.2011 at 15:29
I think we, like, have ourselves a new, like, Varg here, only, like, even more of a pretentious douche. If that's even, like, possible. Like.
Only instead of murdering a dude with a knife, this guy will write a series of academic essays on the ethics of knife ownership. Right after setting fire to a KFC. |
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