Devian "Ninewinged Serpent" (Century Media)
By Taylor Green
Monday. Apr 07, 3:58 PM
Its ability to not fall on extremes makes it worthwhile.

Composed of ex-Marduk members Legion (vocals) and Emil Dragutinovic (drums), you can immediately get a picture of what to expect out of Devian: fast, rampant, punishing black metal. But like any new project, Legion and Emil have distanced themselves from their previous act by incorporating a mix of traditional rhythm driven metal and the punishing reckless abandon of newer metal acts.

At least that's what they claim. Whether that's achieved or not is interpretable. In actuality, Devian are a blend of the commercial, rock-inspired wave of black metal a la Satyricon combined with the shredding infestation of more furious black metal bands such as their predecessor Rotting Christ or 1349. Don't take that as an indictment of Devian, unless you're turned off by any of the following. Newer Marduk fans probably won't be immediately enthused by Devian's "watered-down" sound, and lighter black metal fans may find Devian too fast and rampant to appreciate. But somewhere in the middle rests an exciting monster waiting to be unchained.

Essentially, Ninewinged Serpent sounds like a Satyricon album that has real balls rather than the corpse painted prosthetics that have become so en vogue over the years. Tracks like "Heresy" and "Gemini is the Snake" feature the groove oriented sound of more popular black metal, but without abandoning the bite of traditional black metal. On the other hand, "Scarred" and "Instigator" provide guitar driven shred assaults that may not be as explicit as Darkthrone or Mayhem, but are certainly compelling even with modern production. It is Ninewinged Serpent's ability to not fall on extremes that makes it a worthwhile, complete listening experience. It might alienate fans of the fringes who are either too soft to want the full fury and speed of black metal, or too rough to appreciate old fashioned, solid groove and rhythm laden guitar work.

Ninewinged Serpent provides the foundation for another promising metal act from musicians with something to offer. While the album may not showcase the inspiration of genre heavyweights, it shows that Devian may have a genre evolving album somewhere along their paths. If they choose to lead rather than follow, which Ninewinged Serpent most definitely does, Devian may turn into the next big black metal act. Until then, Ninewinged Serpent will fall in line with any black metal collection.
www.devian.se
www.centurymedia.com

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Taylor Green

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