ALBUM REVIEW: Devil With No Name – Devil With No Name
The untouched powder scattered between the imposing trees of a snowy Norwegian landscape is usually the picture painted within your mind while embracing the cacophony of noise from a black metal release. DEVIL WITH NO NAME, however, have tackled a different kind of harsh and barren territory to create a soundscape in the form of the vast deserts of North America. Based in Arizona, their name is a nod to Sergio Leone’s Western Dollars Trilogy anti-hero, Clint Eastwood’s The Man With No Name and is formed of members from LORD MANTIS, SOVEREIGN and VOID OMNIA. The band came to life when lead man Andrew Markuszewski left Chicago for the deserts of Arizona and connected with bassist Michal Jusko. They decided to harness their black metal roots and newfound atmosphere together to create a blistering, albeit short debut filled with sweeping riffs and pummelling drums influenced by the culture and backdrop of the southwest.
Opening proceedings is Grand Western Apostasy that hits with a behemoth sized building intro before unleashing with full force. It features a swirling deluge of energy that twists and turns until it’s final breath. The solid drumming of Cody Stein complements the thumping baselines that roar in harmony with the guitar work. Follow up Alleluia takes a different turn straight off the mark with a black n’ roll groove worthy of any air-drummers playlist. While the track boasts a catchy repetition of the title in the chorus, it is barked at the listener with no holding back on the bite. You would be mistaken to think it wasn’t spewed out from the jaws of Cerberus itself.
The pace quickens once again with the rapid guitars and relentless drumming of Sycophants of the Covenant. The growled vocals this time are interspersed with a layered and echoing chant that adds to the atmosphere of this sprawling track. The polished sound of the recordings is a welcome change from the standard black metal debut but it doesn’t take anything away from the raw nature of the music. This is thanks to a stellar job by Ken Sorceron of ABIGAIL WILLIAMS and LORD MANTIS fame, who both mixed and mastered the record.
Monad ends the quest through the wastelands with a more mid-tempo stomp that allows the guitar work to breathe and it feels a lot more open, not unlike the deserts they are taking their influences from in their work throughout the album. The image of a wandering entity, fighting a losing battle from the beating sun above in search of purpose and meaning comes to the forefront of your mind. The track is also filled with subtle nuances that fuel these images until the song comes to a crawling standstill.
Devil With No Name have made their mark on the black metal scene with their brief but commanding self-titled debut effort. Hopefully, with future releases there could be more emphasis on the intriguing southern influences of which they claim was the basis for their sound. This is a solid introduction to what is hopefully going to be a storied journey through the harsh terrain of the North American deserts with a soundtrack of punishing but rewarding black metal.
Rating: 9/10
Devil With No Name is set for release May 22nd via New Destiny.
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