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7.5
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BLACKEVIL - Duration: 00:45:48
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Dying Victims Productions
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A title that is also too long and a cover that seems to draw heavily from From Software's video games for the third work of a band, coming from the Teutonic territory and dedicated to an always pleasant and blasphemous speed-tinged black/thrash metal. This is a further demonstration of how prolific the German territory is for the aforementioned genre, in this historical moment and beyond, among the various Cruel Force, Knife, Vulture, Nocturnal and so on.
Furthermore, observing the line-up we realize that we are not exactly talking about naive people, especially as regards the drummer Simon Schilling, a permanent member of the Swedish Marduk for some years, as well as a fundamental element for the optimal performance of a very high-performance proposal. rate of speed, adrenaline and aggressiveness of a diabolical nature, to the delight of all lovers of the aforementioned bands, or even just icons such as Midnight or Venom, albeit in this case with a more marked melodic component and less propensity for black elements' n'roll.
To be honest, listening is less predictable than it might seem, and this can be deduced just from the length of the songs: all over five minutes, with a peak of over ten for the final suite “Towards The Carpathian Winter Ballet ”; in fact, from the initial “Timeless Throne” we perceive much more complex compositional ambitions, although the focus remains firmly on the typical energy of the genre, complete with rhythmic outbursts and full-throttle headbanging. The same guitar riffs are accompanied several times by catchy phrasing, and in the chorus of “Divine Forces”, for example, it even reaches the level of an authentic chorus with all the trappings; all managed with a taste almost more in line with power metal and melodic death, rather than banally with classic black/thrash.
Some solutions, although pleasant to listen to, are perhaps continued for too long, such as the initial melodic phrase of the slower “Beneath This Pentagram”, which also precedes the excellent “Praise The Fire For The Sacrament”, which we do not exaggerate in consider it a discreet meeting point between Hellripper, Desaster and Children Of Bodom. A mix that could make those who, in a band similar to speed metal, look for rougher and angrier solutions, which still exist here, but tend to be put a little in the background compared to a clear desire to be however musical, and even in “The Gladiator” there are actually many riffs that can be appreciated by the most hardened defenders, but always with a strong melodic infrastructure to support the flow.
However, these choices are spot on, also because they represent an interesting way to try to carve out one's own identity in a market where many exponents seem somewhat similar to each other; even if, clearly, we are talking about drifts that must be known how to dose and manage, given that it doesn't take much for it to be verbose or repetitive when the formula is enriched in its entirety.
Fortunately “Unknown Hands” keeps the bar high, partially souring the melodies that accompany the roaring double bass drum, before the very long final track already mentioned above: the latter starts as a doom metal piece, and then transforms into a black song with significant amounts of blast-beats, before slowing down and speeding up again, ending up completely exploding in the final moments. In short, an ups and downs of about eleven minutes, captivating in its own way, but also a little telephonic in its progression – just two modes are a bit few for such a long piece, where even more could have been dared; a speech that does not apply to the final two minutes, truly impeccable and spot-on for a captivating end to an album that is at times surprising.
“Praise The Communion Fire For The Unhallowed Sacrament” borders on excellence, penalized only by an increaseable sonic nastiness and by an apparent desire to reiterate the musical solutions adopted, even within the individual songs, with the result of making everything even too long-lasting, perhaps for reasons of partial insecurity and a sense of proportion that needs to be refined.
However, Dying Victims Productions rarely sees things badly and there is plenty of time to improve and reach the perfect balance, and considering that we are still in the presence of Blackevil's best work to date, the possibility of a path of virtuous improvement is not certainly to be excluded.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM