Polish band Devilish Impressions strike with their third release, the band's sophomore full-length album 'Diabolicanos - Act III: Armageddon'. With this album the band show, that they definitely are a rising metal force from their homeland. On this album, the band present their individual enough take on black/death metal.

Black/death metal mixture doesn't say much, now does it? Devilish Impressions' alloy can be said to consist of elements similar to Polish black metal and death metal scenes, and Norwegian style modern black metal factor. From Polish bands it's Behemoth that Devilish Impressions (DI from now on) remind me of, but DI utilize much more electronics in their music. Synths vary from orchestral stuff to electronic bleeps, hisses, whizzes and so on. There are some Emperor style high tuned guitars, most notably on the beginning of 'Rex Inferni', and the closer 'Mass for the Dead' sounds a lot like Dimmu Borgir (although I haven't heard anything this catchy or good from them this century). Mainly the guitars are heavy, more on death metal side.

The building materials of the music are easy to be picked out, and the band don't throw in anything special but a few times during the album, which is a slight problem, I think. The most individual element about DI are the highly variable vocals, which range from demonic multi-layered voices to shouting and speech and much much more, plus monk choir can be heard, too. The band fluctuate from blast beats to mid-paced headbanging stuff without any kind of a problem, and this brings in a lot of diversity to the music. The band can pack more into a 4-minute song, than an average metal album contain these days, so this album shouldn't make one yawn, but the band can make it seamlessly so a listener won't feel lost either. The variety isn't a hurdle that turns it all into mess, but the band's capability to compose music is competent. It's both riff-wise and melody-wise, where the band's craft shines. And everything is efficiently performed, which deepens the affiance towards the band even more.

The production which was conjured by Szymon Czech at Studio X allow all the sound elements to rise forth well-adjusted. Don't expect anything nekro here... Also, the lyrical point of view isn't typical "Satan is coming, Satan will fuck you, Satan will kill you" thing, but more like exploring the human mind's different corners, although song titles such as 'Natas Ro Dog On Si Ereht (Of Plagues and Blasphemy)' could give wrong impression.

'Diabolicanos - Act III: Armageddon' is an interesting album, and should be checked out by those who want well crafted, ear catching and well produced black/death metal that still have balls.

Rating: 7½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
03/02/2008 15:46