Devian - God to the Illfated

A mere year after they’ve introduced us their remarkable blend of Death-Metal fury with Black-Metal grimness, Swedes Devian are back with an album that, though somewhat more accessible and melodic than its predecessor “Ninewinged Serpent”, retains much of the exuberant ferocity, and the grit, cold and dark impetus that made their first output such a promising release.
“God to the Illfated” essentially sees Devian consolidating the sound explored on their debut work, honing their riffs somewhere to near perfection without compromising their characteristic malicious intent. I could state the mellower sections are more prevalent on the second half of the album, with the Swedish act gradually slipping into catchier songs slathered with succulent melodies and loads of guitar twiddling that verge on the more classic format of Heavy-Metal. On such occasions, like for instance in the title-theme, “Summerdeath” and “South of Halo”, guitarists Joinus and Tomas Nilsson constantly trade off harmonies that smack heavily of Murray/Smith notorious axe-craft, interspersed between a genuinely severe thrashy riffing. The bridges and the solos of “South of Halo” are perfect examples of such richly interplay between melody and full-on aggression. These instantaneous moments contrast nicely with the pummelling thrash-driven blast of opener “Mask of Virtue”, the virtuous aggression of the following song “Assailant” and the snappy and fast-paced “The Unspoken”, all of these songs could rival with the nastiest moments of later-period Kreator in intensity stakes.
All in all, “God to the Illfated” is instantly more convincing than its predecessor, brilliantly produced, flawlessly executed and genuinely puts Devian on a par with acts like Dissection and Hypocrisy. (7.5/10)

Band info: www.devian.se
Label info: www.centurymedia.com