If you’ve heard the ‘Slay for Satan’ EP released 3 years ago by these Singaporean malefactors, you will be pleasantly surprised by the production quality on the new opus. And by the music. The cleaner production (as opposed to the almost raw production on the debut EP) made it possible for the Thrash Metal component to manifest itself in all its glory. Although Shyaithan of Impiety is in charge here, Devouror differs from his main brainchild: blasting rampage systematically alternates here with old-school Thrash Metal sections, in addition this amalgam is presented in different manners.
Take ‘Wrath Angel’: in the beginning it is similar in style to Blasphemy, but as the song progresses it becomes clear that we are dealing with nothing but brutalized ‘Beyond the Gates’ by Possessed with their Thrash Metal riffage. The same duel of genres takes place in ‘Supersonic Satanas’ and ‘Ritualized Debauchery’. While in other songs (‘Vulgar Necrodeath’, ‘Twilight Nunbutchery’, and ‘Bestial Deathcult Warfare’) it is not a duel, but a symbiosis, something like “Thrash Metal on steroids”: we feel a classic Thrash Metal manner both in the riffs and in the vocals (although these are lowered, almost visceral growls), but all this is very brutalized.
Some songs slow down to a funeral march pace (‘Wrath Angel’, ‘Twilight Nunbutchery’), but this does not detract from the album’s bomb-throwing atmosphere. ‘Mantra Kali Kunt’ stands out of all the songs – it’s some mixture of punkish fervour and Thrash Metal aggression. Funny song, yeah. The last song is diligent execution of the classics (something like the tradition of the Singapore Legion), this time ‘Death Metal’ by Possessed. We won’t be wrong if we say that ‘Diabolos Brigade’ will both strike you with brutality and make you remember the best days of Teutonic Thrash Metal. (Para Bellum)
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There is no mystery surrounding Devouror. Look at the lineup and you already know you’re dealing with musicians who have been deep in the Singapore underground for years. Shyaithan on guitars and songwriting, Dizazter behind the kit, Hades on vocals, Asura on second guitar and Cryptor on bass. This isn’t some bunch of newcomers trying to figure out how to sound evil. These guys have lived and breathed Extreme Metal for decades.
The record is fucking vicious. There is no shortage of riffs, blastbeats, screaming leads and that filthy Death/Thrash attack that belongs firmly to the old-school. Hades delivers a deep, guttural vocal that gives the material a different character from Impiety, while the guitars are constantly throwing sharp, ugly riffs and leads around the place. The production is cleaner than the old Singapore underground recordings of decades past, but it still retains enough dirt and aggression to stop the whole thing sounding sterile.
The problem is that Shyaithan’s fingerprints are simply too fucking obvious.
You can certainly hear Impiety all over this record.
Not necessarily in the sense that Devouror is some cheap copy, because there is enough Death Metal and Thrash in here to give it a slightly different shape. But there are moments when you could almost imagine some of these riffs being dropped into the Impiety catalogue and nobody would question it. The later Impiety material, particularly the more Death-Metal-driven attack, is the obvious reference point.
‘Kaos Kommand’ comes to mind when the riffing locks into that savage, forward charging groove. Some of the faster material also carries the same kind of bombastic, head-down assault heard across Impiety’s later work. Even when Devouror slows things down, that familiar Shyaithan sense of constructing riffs around sheer impact is difficult to escape.
The difference is that Devouror lean harder into the Death Metal and Thrash side. ‘Wrath Angel’ is a good example. It starts with that primitive War Metal ugliness before opening up into a much more recognisable old-school Death/Thrash attack. There is a strong Possessed influence here, but the execution has been brutalised through the Devouror filter.
‘Vulgar Necrodeath’ is another one that works because it strips things down to fast, nasty Thrash riffing before the Death Metal machinery kicks back in. ‘Supersonic Satanas’ and ‘Ritualized Debauchery’ keep that same collision going. Nothing particularly subtle here. Just riff, blast, roar and fucking go.
Then there is ‘Mantra Kali Kuntis’, which is probably the track that does the most to separate Devouror from the Impiety shadow. The strange vocal and chant elements give it a different flavour and break up what could otherwise become a fairly uniform assault. It is one of the few moments where you sit up and think, alright, this is Devouror.
‘Bestial Deathcult Warfare’ is exactly what the title promises. Fast, ugly and built for the live environment. This is where the band sounds most comfortable, throwing everything into the pit and letting the riffs do the talking.
Once you’ve heard a few tracks, you pretty much know what the next one is going to throw at you. There are changes of pace and different riffing styles, but the overall attack remains remarkably consistent.
This sounds like a bunch of seasoned musicians and friends getting together to play the kind of Metal they fucking love. There is no attempt to chase trends, no modern technical wankery and no desperate attempt to make the band sound progressive. It is old-school Extreme Metal played by people who actually understand where the music came from.
‘Diabolos Brigade’ is good. At times it is very good. It has the riffs, the musicianship, the aggression and enough old-school spirit to make it an enjoyable spin. But it never quite escapes the enormous shadow cast by Impiety, and that is ultimately what keeps this from being a truly essential release.
A solid Singapore Death/Black/Thrash assault with plenty of teeth, but one that occasionally feels like Shyaithan opened another door into the same room.
Good record. Nasty record. Worth hearing. (Deen “Brother Darkness” Gabriel)
