The Devil’s Blood - The Thousandfold Epicentre
Throwback occultist Rockers The Devil’s Blood have become quite the beloved darlings of the Metal scene and for damn good reason. While they may owe more to AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Heart, and Coven than they do to any Extreme Metal band, that isn’t stopping anyone, including myself, from jumping on the bandwagon. This highly anticipated second full-length LP is already generating Album of 2012 whispers and perfect scores in all the major mags, but is it really all that? Well, let me start out with what’s right about The Thousandfold Epicentre. “Die the Death” is the first great song. Harmonious guitar licks that waste no time putting the Hard back in Hard Rock. This leads to the addictive “Within the Charnel House of Love” with it’s syrupy Blue Oyster Cult-tinged melodic hook. But the best track on the album might be “She.” It has such an authentic late ’60s/’70s vibe (as all their songs do really) with an anthemic chorus that comes radio-ready. In fact, many of this album’s standout cuts would not sound out of place on your shitty town’s Classic Rock radio station, were it not for the Satanic lyrics and imagery. “Fire Burning” is right up that alley also, with its guitar-hero solo and Bluesy grit, as it transitions into the title track which is equally amazing. A bit longer but absolutely spellbinding. Now, as for what’s wrong with the record. Basically if I didn’t just mention it above, it’s total filler. Whether it be the uneventful album-opening duo of “Unending Singularity” and “On the Wings of Gloria,” the endless Journey trot of “Cruel Lover,” or the overwhelming length of certain songs (all in all this beast clocks in at 74 minutes even), a huge chunk of this record leaves a lot to be desired. Come to think of it, 2009’s breakthrough debut LP, The Time of No Time Evermore, was the same story. A whole lotta killer, a whole lotta filler. Oh well, there are much worse fates for bands I guess. It should be noted that Satan’s sultry sex goddess, known only as The Mouth, does her part to make every note sung on the album outstanding and spectacular. With a falsetto that might even make King Diamond a little jealous, the power and range of her voice shine through on even the dull tracks. The truth is you can actually do a lot worse than Devil’s Blood filler, so there should be nothing stopping you from tracking this down.
(0) Comment(s)
Page 1 of 1 pages