Ελληνικά
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Norway
Label: Aftermath Music
Year: 2015
It seems like in the recent years, more and more bands have been attempting to liven up the spirit of Norwegian black metal of the second wave and they go for as pure as possible, which sounds like a calamity by definition but more than often isn’t. Djevel are a similar case, only they don’t try to imitate the genre, since they were there when it took of and expanded twenty years ago. The band shares members of numerous famous Norwegian acts like Enslaved, Kvelertak, Nettlecarrier, Koldbrann and others.
It’s not hard to assume that, judging from the guys’ activity on other bands, Djevel were formed for a specific purpose, which is to create aching, woeful black metal the way Norway does it best. The title “Saa Raa og Kald” means “So raw and cold” and it’s very Darkthrone-ish, the titles and lyrics are all in Norwegian and the cover is quite great, staying on black-grey-white textures and featuring a shaded figure holding a goathead. If you’re not already smelling Norwegian black metal, something’s wrong with you.
“Saa Raa og Kald” is to me, an improvement of the band’s two previous efforts, even though they all share a common core. The production is perfect and it offers the guitars the freezing sound they need, while the vocals are mainly harsh screams along with a bit of cleans, powerfully slashing through the air. The sound and the atmosphere of the album are also to the point, building it’s way up to greatness track by track. All tracks include solid guitar melodies and should be enjoyed a lot by black metallers.
As a united piece, any specific track you choose will give you a good idea of the album’s level. I singled out “Norges Land Og Rike” for it reminded me of Taake patterns, as well as the penultimate and self-titled track, which is the longest (over seven minutes) and the most epic, including acoustic guitars towards the end. On the other hand, a track inferior to the rest was “De Som Hadde Onde Oeyne” because of a somehow dull middle-paced part it has.
If one feels like listening to black metal played this manner, Djevel are great and offer a lot of great moments for the people into them. I can’t say I got less than I expected but not more either, as a fan I have to say “Saa Raa og Kald” is a really good record. At the end of the year, I will remember enjoying this but I’m not sure it will stick and make it among the top ones.
4/6
