Deviser - Howling Flames EP (2017)

Deviser is a lesser known but long-lived entity on the Hellenic black metal scene which has survived nearly as long as its far more popular peer Rotting Christ, if less prolific and a lot less distinct. Their first two full-lengths were pretty good, in particular the sophomore Transmission to Chaos (1998), but the subsequent and scarce recordings showed some growing pains and the band were not able to really define or register themselves against such an exploding European scene. The Howling Flames EP comes six years after their last album, Seasons of Darkness, and does well enough to rekindle my interest in the potential these guys once exhibited, to the extent that if they could pull off a full-length of quality comparable to these tunes I'd honestly be excited.

It's not because Deviser are coming up with anything really unique here, not in style or in actual riffing progressions or overall songwriting. These are just very well-rounded, catchy melodic and symphonic black metal tracks which fluidly balance proficiency and atmosphere. From the guitars you'll definitely notice that Greek streak of majestic, mid-paced riffing you'll recognize from their rotting messianic countrymen, but try and imagine if that were layered up with massive swells of operatic instrumentation. A technique employed by Greece's premiere black metal export on their more recent recordings, to be sure, but this is more like Triarchy of the Lost Lovers or Thy Mighty Contract with that extra layer of orchestra pit paint, and it results in some glorious, solemn shifts in tone over the 12 minutes of material that held up a cool contrast and fulfilling stereo experience. The music is never complex, just robust with how the various strings and keys resonate alongside the meat of the rhythm guitars, while Matt Hnaras barks off with a nihilistic, Sakis Tolis-like growl that blends in very well with the melodies and the thundering of the drums and peels of effects.

These guys don't get very fast, but there's a feel of momentum through most of the EP like you're gliding along the moonlit battlements of some fell castle in a Castlevania game and about to engage some aristocratic undead or Satanic adversary, and so it truly nails what it's going for. Mileage is going to vary as to whether or not you like having such hugely textured, orchestrated accompaniment to a simple black metal core, but Deviser due wonders to never let it overwhelm the basics, and the two cuts here both complement one another and vary it up enough to make a difference. It's short, but right up there with any of the highlights off Transmission, and a lot more tasteful and well integrated than other modern bands who over-employ the symphonics (Fleshgod Apocalypse, recent Dimmu Borgir, etc).

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/Deviser-135734023147260/

Deviser - Seasons of Darkness (2011)

It's great to have a band like Deviser getting back into the game after nearly a decade of absence. After all, these guys were once one of the more promising of the second tier Greek acts, at least for their first two full-lengths Unspeakable Cults and Transmission to Chaos. That said, this is not a group that has ever necessarily clung to one particular sound, instead balancing elements of black, death, thrash and Gothic metal into something striving towards unique, but not always the most fulfilling. Running Sore, their 3rd album had been a letdown, but if you thought the band might one day return with all guns firing, well that's not exactly what has happened here. In fact, the Deviser logo these days, which still seems pretty black metal, is honestly misleading.

Seasons of Darkness is by far the cleanest produced of their body of work, which makes sense with the level of technology available today, but it's much more of a straight Gothic metal effort with hints of electronic and doom than any of their previous full-lengths. You can definitely hear a bit of the lighter side of Rotting Christ and Septic Flesh in this record, perhaps a bit of late 90s Moonspell, but the band also spice it up with a lot of flowing, proggy synthesizers and a constant sense of variation. Something like "The Cell" will open with a driving wall of melodic rhythm ala Katatonia, and then utter forth the Gothic whispers and keys into an almost poppy, Billy Idol-like tune, and then the next track "Dreaming Madness" will tease us with some modern thrash rhythms before doing the same. Don't get me wrong, this is a well written record, with each song delivering its wrath and payload with clarity, but it's without question their safest and most accessible effort to date.

Favorite moments here probably included the airy, fulfilling choirs and leads of the doomy piece "The Eight Veils", or neurotic, Gothic prog metal of "Talking Pictures", but it's fairly consistent throughout the 43 or so minutes. In truth, there is nothing here on Seasons of Darkness that wasn't already hinted at with one of the prior efforts like Running Sore, they've just decided to hear to lay low on much of the aggression of their formative years, so aside from a few heavy riffs or black rasps one should expect nothing more than a modernist, very Euro Gothic metal record with all of the flourishes of high end digital production and synthesized atmosphere. When it doesn't work (i.e. the "MMXII" intro) it comes off a bit cheesy, but where it does it's competent enough that fans of the deep vocals and melodic orchestration might get into it. I just don't hear enough of the 'catchy' in here that I'd usually expect from such a piece.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/deviser

Deviser - Thy Blackest Love (The Early Years) (2003)

This is one of those compilations which might have been superb if the band, label, and any parties involved had only striven for further completion of the band's unattainable catalog. Basically, it collects the Greeks' Thy Blackest Love demo (1996) and 1999 promo together with a pair of unreleased songs. But then, the title itself is misleading, because it doesn't actually include the pair of demos they released in 1990, which would have solidified its value. It wouldn't have hurt either to add the rare Revelation of Higher Mysteries EP (1994), assuming they had the license. What's also curious is that much of the non-album material presented here is that of a more accessible, melodic and catchy Deviser. Not that such elements are foreign to their works Unspeakable Cults or Transmission to Chaos, but those albums tended to focus on complexity and convolution, where these tend to stick with a simple, fetching sequence or two throughout.

Thy Blackest Love is really only interesting for "2000 Years of Lies", since the other tracks ("The Fire Burning Bright", "Threnody") were included with Unspeakable Cults. It's a strong, straight charging melodic black metal track with loud, present bass and some minor keyboard symphony embellishments which arrive at the appropriate juncture. The 1999 promo material starts off in an almost pure Gothic/death metal direction ("Self Ignition"), but the production is pretty low-key. The songs seem to continue to accelerate throughout this, and "Turned to Stone" and "Descend Among the Damned" have great guitar melodies that would have worked out well on a studio album with a better mix. On the other hand, "Forbidden Knowledge" (named for one of their '90 demos) opens with a tremendous, melodic/doom sequence that reminds me of Swedes Tiamat around the turn of the century, before churning into some average black metal.

The last track, "Into the Unknown", is the crudest and least interesting of the lot, a death/thrash piece that cycles through a number of predictable riffs, with shoddy production that barely rates above a jam room rehearsal. In summation, though, the real flaw with the compilation is that it's just not complete enough. More could have been fit after the 32 minutes, whether that be some live content or the aforementioned demos. You know, the actual 'Early Years' hinted by the title. That said, this is not all suck, and fans into the band's versatile elements on the full-lengths will uncover a partial treat or two here. But for anyone new to Deviser, I'd advise heading straight for Transmission to Chaos, their crowning achievement.

Verdict: Indifference [5.25/10]

http://www.myspace.com/deviser

Deviser - Running Sore (2002)

Transmission to Chaos had built my expectations significantly for Deviser's ultimate ascension to the Hellenic elite, but its successor Running Sore just as quickly deflated that longing. The band have an arduous time here producing anything that remains in the noggin, and though the individual aesthetics are not necessarily a deviation from the sophomore, the decision to engage in a more vicious and driven strain of black metal does not ultimately succeed. Early on in the track list, it almost felt that the band had returned to the sheer black/thrash roots that they had developed on The Revelation of Higher Mysteries EP, but gradually the synthesizers return in full force and it takes on a more atmospheric bent like its predecessor, only not quite so potent or dynamic.

It really doesn't start off on a strong note, with "Signals from Another World" serving only as a straight thrust of Slayer-inspired black/death metal with coy, repressed rasping and timid flutters of synthesizer deep in its bowels, but "I Am in Awe" transforms back to the symphonic, exotic poise of Transmission to Chaos. I rather dug the escalating, if cheesy keyboards in this one, but the riffs they smother are rather bare boned. "Liber Animus" feels much the same, a construct of flighty, shining flutes and mechanical choirs over some average riffing, which is this time more of a melodic death metal piece. Ditto for "Bemused Minds" and its descending doom motif; ;"From the Starry Voids" and its baleful gallop; or "She Who is to Come", another chugged Gothic/doom tract. The remainder of the record follows in the mold of "Signals...", with scathing but forgettable fast riffing that succeeds as nothing more than a contrast to the more accessible, creeping fare.

The mix is solid enough, though the keys are clearly too bold in places and it creates a striking separation, as if they were trying to 'escape' the dull morass of guitar notation beneath. Hnaras had not lost his aptitude here, but both the snarls and guitars leave much to desire, as if the well of quality had dried up somewhere in the four intermittent years between the sophomore and this. That slump would be nothing, however, compared to the next, with Running Sore providing the last new Deviser material for nearly a decade (outside of a pair of unreleased tunes on Thy Blackest Love (The Early Years) compilation). Since the record feels like the band was clearly running out of steam, and unable to break through to the international market that several of their countrymen (Rotting Christ, Septic Flesh), I can't really blame them for taking some time off to recharge the creative batteries, but Running Sore, while not bad, is not an album I ever look forward to listening through.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10] (where the shadows lie thick)

http://www.myspace.com/deviser

Deviser - Transmission to Chaos (1998)

Transmission to Chaos is one of those rare payoffs which make me very happy to invest in such tireless examinations (and reviews) of particular metal scenes, because it's a tasty morsel of greatness to which I had not had the prior privilege of exposure, before the weeks leading up to this project. An unsung and overlooked gem which is likely the band's strongest to date, channeling the atmospheric intent of its predecessor Unspeakable Cults to potent levels of variation which are reminiscent of Deviser's fellow Greek acts without at all being a close impersonation. The riffs themselves are not exactly complicated, and a handful lag behind due to their familiarity and faint predictability, but overall this is a pleasure to experience.

This is first and foremost a black metal record, but the means by which some of the melodic fills and neo-classical leads are threaded through the harsher bombast of the rhythm guitars and vocals often reminds me of both melodeath and even a dash of German power metal. This band came from straight, snarling black/thrash roots, so they're no strangers to building tension and excitement through dynamic shifts, and there's something positively 80s about the way they wend the little, popping melodies through "Sailed by Night", "Satyr, Hail!" and the thundering and beautiful "Deamonolatreia (Forbidden Knowledge)". But they also carve out great swaths of climactic, dreary Gothic atmosphere through the synthesizers in the amazing escalation of "Transcendent Beauty" and the desperate symphonic segues within "Oneiric Aphasia". That said, if you just want straight, charging black metal with good leads and strong riffing, the band also has you covered in "Open Shaft to Lunacy", "The Dark Mood Gathered".

Matt Hnaras sounds a lot more sinister here than on the prior recordings, a bloodied and devious alternative to Sakis Tolis of Rotting Christ if he were distilled into several of the Norse black frontmen like Abbath Doom Occulta or Varg Vikernes. Manos Hiotis does an especial good job of the synthesizers, which breed bombast and dreadful arrogance without ever supplanting the dark and ripping mesh of the rhythm guitar, while the leads are also to be praised. Like many of the Greek peers, the lyrics are fairly thoughtful and heavily image-laden glimpses into the wonder of the natural, the cosmic, and the mystical, and I admire their stark simplicity. This is basically a treasure waiting to happen, and album much untapped by the span of attention often turned into this scene, fashioned through a dichotomy of sweeping eloquence and razor black rigor, and with only minor production issues aside, and a mere handful of riffs that don't match up to the integrity of the remainder, it demands a second chance. Or a first. From everyone.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (taking you from the sane)

http://www.myspace.com/deviser

Deviser - Unspeakable Cults (1996)

Though their demos and Revelation of Higher Mysteries EP had all the subtle sentimentality of a sawblade, Deviser would develop a more enduring style through the subsequent full-length albums, beginning with the proper debut, Unspeakable Cults in 1996. Here, the band have entirely not lost that belligerent edge, but molded it into a veneer more redolent of their Greek peers Varathron or Rotting Christ, with an increased use of atmospheric keyboards, slower and more potent riffing, multiple rasped and tortured vocals, and even some feminine backups dropped into several of the tracks ("Darkness Incarnate", etc) for an added dimension of elegance and despair.

The focus is still on centric, black/thrashing rhythms and tight, energetic drumming, butt here is a more solemn depth to the writing here than on the previous EP. "Stand & Deliver" teases us with this distant, driving intro before it erupts into a more volatile slew of blacker riffing, and you can immediately hear how this is one of the strongest Greek productions to date, with a vibrant and thick guitar tone and loud vocals somewhere between Varg Vikernes' screaming angst and Sakis Tolis' harsh bite. Several of the tunes are written in a more subdued, almost Gothic metal variation ("Threnody"), while several seem pretty close in feel to Rotting Christ ("Dangers of a Real & Concrete Nature") and would not have been alien to Non Serviam or Triarchy of the Lost Lovers. Two of my favorites are buried pretty deep in the track list, though: the desperate and thundering black metal instrumental "Ritual Orgy", and the tearful and memorable melodic inclinations of "The Fire Burning Bright".

It's not an entirely compelling experience, of course, and once one moves past the rock solid production aesthetics, it seems to dwindle (apart from a few of the tunes I mentioned). For one, the guitar riffs, while structured and competent, are just not always that catchy, fading in and out of attention with little to no means of resonance. I've found myself waiting for that key melody or explosive sequence to arrive, only to be let down. But they've certainly got most of the details correct: the vocals are quite vicious, the lyrics featured a good balance of forceful occult imagery and Gothic grotesque, and the very richness of the studio sound feels like a step forward for Greek black metal in general (following on the heels of Varathron's Walpurgisnacht). If you're into the stronger underground acts of that scene (Rotting Christ, Kawir, etc), then this would be worth checking out, but it was drowned out by the slightly more lethargic, yet unquestionably poignant Triarchy of the Lost Lovers.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (the apparatus of witchcraft)

http://www.myspace.com/deviser

Deviser - The Revelation of Higher Mysteries EP (1994)

Talking about a disparity between cover artwork and content, the sylph-like ascendants representing this EP look like the work of some washed out hippie drone experimenting with colors, and not at all reflective of Deviser's sound. These guys were an anomaly in the Greek scene for playing a straight up brand of black/thrash that is more commonly associated with Swedish and Norse bands. The most logical reference point is Bathory, but you'll hear some very crude and sinister speed/thrash riffing courtesy of Possessed, Slayer and Venom, strung with leads, harmonics and all manner of derring-do on the part of guitarist Matt Hnaras who has more or less always been the core of this long-stander, since 1989 if you can believe that.

The only other example I could remember of such unbridled energy would have been the first Varathron EP (a sound they did not stick with), but this is wilder and more frivolous, and sadly not as strong in the individual riff writing. Hnaras manifests a devious rasp over the crisp and fluid guitars, but despite the obvious effort and busywork, the two tunes here (not counting the intro) lack the memorable guitars and chorus sequences that would inevitably turn out so well for Northern bands like Bewitched, Aura Noir and Maze of Torment. "Consumed by Darkness" is the more relentless of the two, with some snazzy tapping and lead breakdowns, while "The Shadow Where Evil Stands Still" is more grimy and diabolic, filling out much of its weight with slower, choppy paced thrashing rhythms. The latter is also the more dull of the pair, with pedestrian guitar lines that sound like any thrasher could fuse them together in minutes, but the opening sequence is at least passable.

The most notable aspect of The Revelation of Higher Mysteries, aside form its gaudy and god awful artwork, is unfortunately not the music, but just how different it plays out next to what the other Greek bands were doing for the time. Malicious and aggressive, raw and ripping, though not entirely abandoning the notion of musicality in its quest to savage the listener. Such a huge break from the largely slow to mid paced, keyboard-laden fare that was so popular at the time. I don't really enjoy the songs, but I've heard far worse in my time, and at least there was some potential here for an explosive force to rival their Scandinavian counterparts. Fortunately, Hnaras will evolve and improve the sound before long.

Verdict: Indifference [5.5/10] (half tearful and half defiant)

http://www.myspace.com/deviser