ALBUM REVIEW: Daeva – Through Sheer Will And Black Magic…

Philadelphian Thrashing Death Metal zealots DAEVA recently offered their first album via 20 Buck Spin. Now I have decided to delve into its mysteries.

A forlorn introduction radiates an unwelcoming energy to prepare us for the annihilation that lies ahead. Cascades of warped, thrashing riffs blast in with maniacal drumming and chasmic howls, this instantly screams of truly fantastic Extreme Metal. Blackened elements entwine with the more traditional, giving speeding darkness and hellfire an in-your-face obnoxiousness that is impossible not to be gripped by. Dissonance and ride cymbals contort in the black flame before delving straight back into deep chasms of visceral mayhem. The lead work is insane, with some truly fantastic solos to break the barbaric battery with class and equal ferocity. Sometimes taking venomous anthems to much catchier territories, sometimes pursuing wolven rage with bestial triumph abound, there is no denying that the start of this album is pure adrenaline and carnage, exactly what I had hoped for.

There are often moments, like in the excellent “Passion Under The Hammer” which go from raging 80s Thrash Metal to totally crazed, abyssal Black Metal without warning. A lot of stopping, starting, progressing and contorting happens but in a natural way that keeps you hooked, rather than turns you off. The trick is an unmistakably unique energy and aesthetic that doesn’t just feel like a mess of aborted attempts to people-please several sub-sects of metallic maniacs. Every element feels genuine and well-executed while as a whole making something all the more triumphant and grandiose as a result. The senses of urgency and panic naturally turn to adrenalised and frenzied rage. These primal, animalistic moods are laid out perfectly to strike a very real response as you fall further into the grasp of Daeva’s diabolic hell-scapes.

The commanding, impassioned and otherworldly execution of the instruments and vocals alike is utterly inhuman. This is thousandfold more intense due to the evilness of the productions necrotic yet clear display of devilishness that is complete with all of the grit one needs in Extreme Metal to sound truly nasty. Unparalleled savageness is played into every note and lyric, executing all energies most sadistically. Riding waves of sulphuric sound, there is nothing short of spectacular playing from the four maniacs here. The manner in which they can be over-the-top and yet tasteful, avoiding going too cliche is excellent. There is that mystifying darkness but also the striking oneness to true heaviness molten in unison to conjure whatever Daeva casts forth from their specific rift of the underworld. Furious until the last, this record will hold you in iron-fisted ecstasy until you hit play again or die from blasphemous adrenaline overload.

Getting that ancient blend of feral Heavy Metal magic and contemporary discordant weirdness is not easy, but Daeva pull off something of stellar proportions that sees blistering hostility and headbanging traditions meet in the middle for a truly epic experience. Melding nostalgia and nastiness, this record is a slice of everything you’d want from some Black-Thrash-Heavy Metal hellfire. Welcome to the abyss of ritualistic Heavy Metal!