The Devourer Of All (Self Released)

 “The Devourer Of All” is the latest release of this UK based Black Metal band formed in 1996… Crimson Darkness defines their music as Horror Metal, which could be described as a pretty melodic form of Black Metal with atmospheric and gothic elements thrown in. The band seems to be clearly influenced by the sound of Cradle Of Filth, but unlike the most of the Gothic Black Metal bands, Crimson Darkness bases it music on guitar driven atmosphere, where the subtle keyboards sounds just like an accurate complement for the melodic, yet obscure guitar riffs. The guitar style on this album is aggressive and vicious, including several elements of the traditional Black Metal sound along with some interesting Heavy Metal influences (just listen to the excellent closing track of this album and will know what I’m talking about) … The vocals here are grim and perverse, pretty influenced by the labor of Dani Filth, but the vocals of Darren (the mastermind behind this band) are obscurer and definitely less hysterical than the frenetic style of the frontman of Cradle Of Filth. The whole album’s structures are mostly mid to fast paced, but also include a wide variety of tempos; this is where the drum work shows all its versatility and technique, which complemented by an overall tight musicianship results into seven high quality compositions full of a macabre and refined sense of heaviness, always complemented by a really clear and powerful sounding production... “The Devourer Of All” is a very interesting piece of “Horror” Metal, the band have created here a very personal style that even when is clearly not 100% original, certainly escapes from the Gothic Metal clichés and achieves an obscure Black Metal sound… if you are into the whole Gothic Vampiric Metal sound, this album may sound a little to “Black Metal” for you, so I would definitely recommend this album for those into the most melodic and elaborate side of the Black Metal audience; don’t be afraid to take a listen to this album, there’s enough Black Metal here to condemn your soul to eternal damnation… (AP)