Swedish black metal: Devourer “The Wicked Ones”
Devourer serves an unsweetened cup of black metal on its new album. New vocalist Oksana Rage takes this to another level.
The Swedish black metal band Devourer was formed in 2002. “The Wicked Ones” is the band’s fifth album. They recorded their first three-song demo, “Malignant”, in 2003. The band’s debut full-length album “All Hope Abandon” came out in 2013. The band now consists of founding member John Falk on guitar and newcomer Oksana Rage on bass and vocals. Russian-born Oksana is an excellent addition to the band. Her presence as a songwriter, bassist and vocalist has taken this band up a few notches on the ladder to the frozen north. She was already in the band for the previous album, 2022’s “Ratus”. At that time she was only playing bass. The sinister chemistry between John and Oksana is tangible. We are grateful for the music that comes out of that relationship. Devourer creates excellent dystopian black metal.
On the new album, “The Wicked Ones”, we get pissed-off vocals over ferociously played black metal, yet with excellent melodies underneath the chaotic mayhem. The musical landscape is dark, cold and hopeless. There are no rainbows or unicorns in sight. Favourite tracks on the album include the sinister “Spirit of the North” and the relentless “Fear Incarnate”. Both songs hit the ground running. There are immediate onslaughts of organised musical chaos. This is good stuff. This is music for those who drink their metal black and without sugar. It is another great album in Sweden’s proud tradition of black metal mastery.
Devourer “The Wicked Ones” is out now.
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