| CD review: Devilish Impressions - Diabolicanos - Act III: Armageddon |
| Conquer Records, 2008 | Review published: 2008/02/18 |
|
 Devilish Impressions is a Polish blackened death metal band that adds creativity to the subgenre by including melody and occasional keyboards to the music. Passionate melodic guitar solos are sparsely used throughout the album, but they also include clean vocals every once in a while, which actually hurt the music.
Every single song on Act III: Armageddon has its own identity. The album starts out with a track that is strikingly similar to that of fellow countrymen Behemoth, mostly because of the vocals. Along with “Diabolicanos”, the first song, “T.H.O.R.N.S.”, is the most intense track on the album. The following song is actually reminiscent of Dimmu Borgir at times, which goes from being rather slow and melodic with annoying clean vocals to bombastic violence. Quazarre’s vocals, which are by far the high point of this album, come out of nowhere and completely catch the listener off guard. After a dark intro, “The Word was Made Flesh Turned into Chaos Again” begins, which is quite possibly the most annoying song on the entire album. The drumming is way too simple and the ride cymbal sounds fucking retarded. “Tales of Babylon’s Whore” features an increased amount of melody and more proficient symphonic keyboards, but the chorus makes me antsy for something more. Right when the listener becomes used to the mid-paced tempo, “Diabolicanos” comes blasting in and provides consistent enjoyment, and the song gets even better when the chorus comes in. The biggest disappointment for me, however, is “Natas Ro Dog On Si Ereht (Of Plagues And Blasphemy)”. It starts out with an extremely catchy guitar riff, but the song just goes nowhere. The final song, entitled “Mass for the Dead”, clocks in at over eight minutes, but the song has enough hooks and depth to make it interesting.
What we get here is a band with good ideas, but bad execution. The songwriting generally sounds mature and creative, but the instruments are just too simple. The overall production of the album is great, especially on the drums, but I can’t help but notice that the guitars sound thin at times. This album could be great if the drumming wasn’t so basic and if the guitars had more of an impact on the songs, but this is by no means a bad release and fans of blackened death metal should at least check out Devilish Impressions.
Nicholas Dow
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01. T.H.O.R.N.S.
02. Rex Inferni
03. The Word Was Made Flesh
Turned Into Chaos Again
04. I Am The Son Of God
05. Tales Of Babylon’s Whore
06. Diabolicanos
07. Natas Ro Dog On Si Ereht
(Of Plagues And Blasphemy)
08. Har-Magedon
09. Mass For The Dead
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