Undivine - A Deceitful Calm

The search of new a Dissection seems to have ended following the death of its leader Jon Nodtveidt and consequent farewell of the legendary Swedish group. Obviously these are different times and somehow the spot left vacant by their demise seems impossible to fill, however I think Undivine, a group led by members of In Aeternum and Isole would be a worthy candidate to such position.
Essentially, Undivine had been able to capture the spirit of Dissection circa-the mythic “Storm the Light's Bane”, a well-balanced blend of Black and Death-Metal elements with special relevancy for the great guitar work of Erik Kumpulainen that confers these eight themes a certain melodic sombreness.
A touch of old Ophthlamia can also be heard in the sonority Undivine, especially in the catchy and mid-tempo opening song “My Silence”, perhaps the most accessible and melodic theme of the all album with some truly memorable guitar harmonies. The remaining tracks recalls us of the already mentioned Dissection like for instance in “And the Word Was War” and in certain occasions also their compatriots Necrophobic, especially on the faster moments. There’s a great variation between fast rhythms and slower ones throughout “A Deceitful Calm” and although it’s not very recurrent, drummer Jonas Lindstörm from Isole even tries out some blast beats on “The Cleansing”, a fast song in the style of the most vile and grim Scandinavian Black Metal.
Apparently the Swedish group is already on the final stages of completing their second full-length album and judging by the quality of the first sample, something tells me the best of Undivine is yet to come. (7/10)

Band info: www.undivine.se
Label info: www.auralofferings.com