THE BEAST

Devourer - Raptus - Reviewed By Wonderbox Metal ! Check it out here at this link: https://wonderboxmetal.com/2022/01/31/devourer-raptus-review/

Devourer are a Swedish/Russian black metal band and this is their fourth album.

I really enjoyed 2017’s Across the Empty Plains and 2019’s Dawn of Extinction, so upon receipt of Raptus it was a must-listen.

Ever since first hearing Devourer back in 2017 I was immediately hooked by their music. It’s a style I love, played with skill and character, but there was, (and still is), something indefinable about their sound that stuck out from the blackened hordes. Take the base Swedish second wave style, pump it full of death metal muscle, and you have a blackened assault on the senses that is as enjoyable as it is satisfying.

On their latest album Devourer’s death metal influences have somehow become more prevalent, but without diluting the band’s blackened core. It’s a balancing act between styles that favours the black metal side overall, but still allows the band to straddle genres with ease. The end result is a 42-minute black/death metal experience that is blistering and engaging.

These new songs are focused and refined versions of what came before them. There is an improved sense of songwriting development, allowing the band’s melodically-changed blackened energies to be channelled in increasingly sophisticated and nuanced ways. Of course, there’s still more than enough raw brutality and scything speed here to satisfy, but the pace is more varied, the riffs more infectious, and the melodies more catching.

The latest Devourer album has shaped up to be one of their strongest. Taking their strengths and building on them, as well as developing their black/death sound further, Raptus is a treasure trove of quality blackened material.

Very highly recommended. - Wonderbox Metal

Release Date: January 31, 2022

FFO: Dark Funeral, Kadaverdisciplin, Mgla

Location: Sweden/Russia

Devourer was formed by multi-instrumentalist John Falk (Sorcery, ex-In Aeternum) in Sandviken, Sweden 2002. The first demo came out in 2003, and then four full-length albums and a handful of videos and singles have been released. Vocalist Fredrik Håf (Patronymicon, Sordid Flesh) joined Devourer in 2007, and bassist Oksana Falk (Teodolit) and guitarist Johan Vikholm (Sorcery, Patronymicon) joined the band in 2019. Raptus is Devourer's fourth full-length album. It was written and produced by Devourer, and the cover art has a design made by Vald de Mar. It's available to order on digipak CD from Devourer's Bandcamp page.

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https://devourer.bandcamp.com/
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https://www.instagram.com/devourermetal/