Devilish Impressions
Simulacra
Simulacra
Simulacra is the third effort by
grotesquely underrated Polish black/death metallers Devilish Impressions.
Excluding its bonus tracks, the nine-track album is nearly forty minutes long
and was released in July earlier this year. This album is noticeably different
from the band’s previous two releases, Plurima Mortis Imago
from 2005 and Diabolicanos – Act III: Armageddon
from 2008, but most certainly not
in a bad way.
The first song I heard from this album (and thus, the band) was the album’s opening track, “Icaros”. Quazarre, whom you might know from the most recent release by Crionics (the N.O.I.R. EP) and/or the band Asgaard, is responsible for the vocals, guitars, and lyrics, and yes, the lyrics on “Icaros” are relevant to the mythological figure Icarus. One thing that I really love about this album is the fact that every single song, excluding the closing instrumental, “Solitude”, is based on and, excluding “Icaros”, features quotes from a literary piece by a famous author (a list will follow the review for curiosity’s sake). I, being a lover of literature, especially older works like those that were tied into this album’s lyrics, truly appreciated this, as well as Quazarre’s vocal interpretations. He did a wonderful job bringing the poems/excerpts to life and utilized both his unique growls and clean voice. His voice overall, no matter how he uses it, really is special; I can’t think of any other vocalist who sounds quite like him, and he quickly became one of my overall favorites. However, there are no songs on this album other than the first bonus track, “Prince of the East”, where Quazarre doesn’t use his growls. Even though I adore his clean vocals as much as his unclean vocals, this is actually perfectly okay. No matter what kind of vocals Quazarre is doing, they fit into the music easily, and add perfect atmosphere when they need to.
Moving on, up until track three, “Lilith”, there aren’t any guitar solos. I’m not complaining about this, as they aren’t really necessary, just something extra and enjoyable when they’re there. Not useless, but not integral, and it seems the band’s aware of that, as the few aren’t anything too bombastic, and seem to mostly be used for extra emotional emphasis. The fantastic riffs don’t bore the listener and are especially enjoyable when they back Quazarre chanting the chorus on track four, “Fear No Gods!”.
The drumming is also enjoyable throughout the album. Icanraz is obviously quite capable, and doesn’t use blast beats to excess by any means. And, when blast beats are used, they aren’t overpowering like they can sometimes be. Very smooth and consistent throughout, showing Icanraz knows his way around and is pretty respectable, though I suppose that shouldn’t come as a surprise about someone who names the likes of Gene Hoglan, George Kollias, and Inferno among his main influences, and it certainly shows.
And then there are the symphonic aspects to this album. This isn’t very new for Devilish Impressions, but it was a lot more prominent on Simulacra than their previous releases. Again, though, this is most certainly NOT a bad thing! If you’re familiar with my last review (Carach Angren’s Where the Corpses Sink Forever), you’ll recall that I’ve said bands struggle with finding balance between symphony and the band in symphonic genres. Even though Devilish Impressions doesn’t include as many symphonic elements as other bands do, they seemed to have an easier time finding balance with what they do include. If anything, their ability to find it has improved since 2008’s Diabolicanos, as well as surpassed that of other bands. The symphonics are fantastic and tie the entire masterpiece together very nicely.
And now we’re at the “nothing is perfect” portion of this review. As with my last review, the problems are pretty minimal and do not make me enjoy the album any less.
1.) If you’ve noticed, I’ve said nothing about Vraath, the bass player. Why? Because, as is what seems to be death metal tradition, the bass player isn’t allowed to be heard that often, and unfortunately, Devilish Impressions doesn’t stray from that tradition. Vraath, I’d love to praise you as much as I did Quazarre and Icanraz, but I can’t even hear you.
2.) I have to be fair and say, though this didn’t bother ME too much, some may think that the lyrics had too little an amount of originality with how much was taken from various literary works as I mentioned. It’s certainly made clear that Quazarre loves his poetry, but some people may want to see more of what HE’S capable of as opposed to already-famous authors (though what he did write was fantastic, specifically all the lyrics for “Icaros”).
Aside from that, the only complaint I had was that the album was too short and I wanted more by the time it was over, but I suppose that can be viewed as a good thing. I hope their next album resembles Simulacra, as it certainly won me over. With its beautiful cover art, I give it a very well-deserved 94%. As far as picking my 2012 favorites, Simulacra certainly gave Carach Angren’s release a run for its money! Check it out when you get a chance, as it’s well worth it, especially if you’re a fan of bands like Vesania.
Noteworthy tracks:
Track One: “Icaros”
Track Four: “Fear No Gods!”
Track Eight: “The Last Farewell”
The first song I heard from this album (and thus, the band) was the album’s opening track, “Icaros”. Quazarre, whom you might know from the most recent release by Crionics (the N.O.I.R. EP) and/or the band Asgaard, is responsible for the vocals, guitars, and lyrics, and yes, the lyrics on “Icaros” are relevant to the mythological figure Icarus. One thing that I really love about this album is the fact that every single song, excluding the closing instrumental, “Solitude”, is based on and, excluding “Icaros”, features quotes from a literary piece by a famous author (a list will follow the review for curiosity’s sake). I, being a lover of literature, especially older works like those that were tied into this album’s lyrics, truly appreciated this, as well as Quazarre’s vocal interpretations. He did a wonderful job bringing the poems/excerpts to life and utilized both his unique growls and clean voice. His voice overall, no matter how he uses it, really is special; I can’t think of any other vocalist who sounds quite like him, and he quickly became one of my overall favorites. However, there are no songs on this album other than the first bonus track, “Prince of the East”, where Quazarre doesn’t use his growls. Even though I adore his clean vocals as much as his unclean vocals, this is actually perfectly okay. No matter what kind of vocals Quazarre is doing, they fit into the music easily, and add perfect atmosphere when they need to.
Moving on, up until track three, “Lilith”, there aren’t any guitar solos. I’m not complaining about this, as they aren’t really necessary, just something extra and enjoyable when they’re there. Not useless, but not integral, and it seems the band’s aware of that, as the few aren’t anything too bombastic, and seem to mostly be used for extra emotional emphasis. The fantastic riffs don’t bore the listener and are especially enjoyable when they back Quazarre chanting the chorus on track four, “Fear No Gods!”.
The drumming is also enjoyable throughout the album. Icanraz is obviously quite capable, and doesn’t use blast beats to excess by any means. And, when blast beats are used, they aren’t overpowering like they can sometimes be. Very smooth and consistent throughout, showing Icanraz knows his way around and is pretty respectable, though I suppose that shouldn’t come as a surprise about someone who names the likes of Gene Hoglan, George Kollias, and Inferno among his main influences, and it certainly shows.
And then there are the symphonic aspects to this album. This isn’t very new for Devilish Impressions, but it was a lot more prominent on Simulacra than their previous releases. Again, though, this is most certainly NOT a bad thing! If you’re familiar with my last review (Carach Angren’s Where the Corpses Sink Forever), you’ll recall that I’ve said bands struggle with finding balance between symphony and the band in symphonic genres. Even though Devilish Impressions doesn’t include as many symphonic elements as other bands do, they seemed to have an easier time finding balance with what they do include. If anything, their ability to find it has improved since 2008’s Diabolicanos, as well as surpassed that of other bands. The symphonics are fantastic and tie the entire masterpiece together very nicely.
And now we’re at the “nothing is perfect” portion of this review. As with my last review, the problems are pretty minimal and do not make me enjoy the album any less.
1.) If you’ve noticed, I’ve said nothing about Vraath, the bass player. Why? Because, as is what seems to be death metal tradition, the bass player isn’t allowed to be heard that often, and unfortunately, Devilish Impressions doesn’t stray from that tradition. Vraath, I’d love to praise you as much as I did Quazarre and Icanraz, but I can’t even hear you.
2.) I have to be fair and say, though this didn’t bother ME too much, some may think that the lyrics had too little an amount of originality with how much was taken from various literary works as I mentioned. It’s certainly made clear that Quazarre loves his poetry, but some people may want to see more of what HE’S capable of as opposed to already-famous authors (though what he did write was fantastic, specifically all the lyrics for “Icaros”).
Aside from that, the only complaint I had was that the album was too short and I wanted more by the time it was over, but I suppose that can be viewed as a good thing. I hope their next album resembles Simulacra, as it certainly won me over. With its beautiful cover art, I give it a very well-deserved 94%. As far as picking my 2012 favorites, Simulacra certainly gave Carach Angren’s release a run for its money! Check it out when you get a chance, as it’s well worth it, especially if you’re a fan of bands like Vesania.
Noteworthy tracks:
Track One: “Icaros”
Track Four: “Fear No Gods!”
Track Eight: “The Last Farewell”
Literary References
Within Simulacra:
Track Two, “Legion of Chaos”: “Obsession” by French poet Charles Baudelaire
Track Three, “Lilith”: “Panthea” by Irish writer/poet Oscar Wilde
Track Four, “Fear No Gods!”: “The Inferno” by Italian poet Dante Alighieri
Track Five, “The Scream of the Lambs”: “Songs of Innocence – Night” by English poet William Blake
Track Six, “Spiritual Blackout”: “A Spirit Passed Before Me” by British poet Lord Byron
Track Seven, “Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici”: “The Coliseum” by author/poet Edgar Allan Poe
Track Eight, “The Last Farewell”: “The Reaper and the Flowers” by American poet Henry Longfellow
Bonus Track One, “Prince of the East”: “Dr. Faustus” by English dramatist/poet Christopher Marlowe
*“Prince of the East”, it should be said, is a vocal interpretation of excerpts from Scene V of Dr. Faustus, performed by Quazarre and Orion (Behemoth/Vesania), the former playing the part of Doctor John Faustus, the latter playing the part of Mephistophilis, that features no other musicians. It is not sung, but spoken.
*The second bonus track is “Somnambulistic Masquerade”. It is a digital-only bonus track, and very little is known about it. Both bonus tracks are available on Spotify, and are, like the rest of the album, well worth listening to.
Track Two, “Legion of Chaos”: “Obsession” by French poet Charles Baudelaire
Track Three, “Lilith”: “Panthea” by Irish writer/poet Oscar Wilde
Track Four, “Fear No Gods!”: “The Inferno” by Italian poet Dante Alighieri
Track Five, “The Scream of the Lambs”: “Songs of Innocence – Night” by English poet William Blake
Track Six, “Spiritual Blackout”: “A Spirit Passed Before Me” by British poet Lord Byron
Track Seven, “Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici”: “The Coliseum” by author/poet Edgar Allan Poe
Track Eight, “The Last Farewell”: “The Reaper and the Flowers” by American poet Henry Longfellow
Bonus Track One, “Prince of the East”: “Dr. Faustus” by English dramatist/poet Christopher Marlowe
*“Prince of the East”, it should be said, is a vocal interpretation of excerpts from Scene V of Dr. Faustus, performed by Quazarre and Orion (Behemoth/Vesania), the former playing the part of Doctor John Faustus, the latter playing the part of Mephistophilis, that features no other musicians. It is not sung, but spoken.
*The second bonus track is “Somnambulistic Masquerade”. It is a digital-only bonus track, and very little is known about it. Both bonus tracks are available on Spotify, and are, like the rest of the album, well worth listening to.
(Originally written for headbangerssanctuary.com on Dec. 13th, 2012)
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