Music reviews are hard. I sift through new releases every week to try and find an album that cooks. It takes time and a patient ear, but when you do find that one record that makes you pop, you’re glad you went through the journey. I had the absolute pleasure of listening to the new album from Philadelphia-based Devil Master. What initially piqued my attention was the eye-popping acid trip work of art that graces the cover of the album. Not only is the title for their new LP brutally awesome (Satan Spits on Children of Light), but the music itself is just like the cover art— wild, intense, and fun.
The band classifies themselves as twisted black metal punk mayhem and that is exactly spot on. It’s like a heavy metal chef was making an awesome stew. They started off by tossing in punk and black metal into a pot; sprinkled in some thrash and doom, then topped it off with a dusting of the macabre. Devil Master successfully blends these styles seamlessly while keeping it fresh.
One aspect that captivated me was the guitar sound. It has a type of blackened surf, rockabilly tone to it that’s just fucking great. The vocals are raw and guttural. The drums have a huge sound to them, and the percussion work is prominent. Complementing the drums, the other half of the rhythm section— the bass— has an upfront, big deep sound that was well mixed into the track. Speaking of mixing, every aspect of the music is tracked very well. The album has a great balance to it, not too much treble or deep bass, which would have masked the vocals.
One aspect that captivated me was the guitar sound. It has a type of blackened surf, rockabilly tone to it that’s just fucking great. The vocals are raw and guttural. The drums have a huge sound to them, and the percussion work is prominent. Complementing the drums, the other half of the rhythm section— the bass— has an upfront, big deep sound that was well mixed into the track. Speaking of mixing, every aspect of the music is tracked very well. The album has a great balance to it, not too much treble or deep bass, which would have masked the vocals.
Tracks like their single “Black Flame Candle”, “Nightmares in the Human Collapse”, and “Dance of Fullmoon Specter” exemplify the “mayhem” the band tagged themselves with. These are all up-tempo thrash songs with a punk attitude and a black metal core. The song “Christ’s Last Hiss” has a riff that sounds almost like the Gremlins theme song, which got me gushing when I first heard it. Intentional or not, that shit was rad. The album concludes just like it starts with a piano sequence that sounds like someone is communicating with a demon in the silent movie era— brutally dramatic.
This band is awesome. Do yourself a favor and check them out. //Arturo Padilla
This band is awesome. Do yourself a favor and check them out. //Arturo Padilla
