Devastator - The Summoning

April 21, 2009

Reviewer: J. A. Burt

It’s always interesting, and can also be quite enjoyable, to witness a younger band’s journey towards their ultimate identity.  Progression and growth can be extremely exciting.  Sometimes the outcome is just too far removed from the origins, and other times the improvements are immeasurable.  Florida’s Devastator show us that the result can also fall somewhere in between those two extremes with their latest full length album entitled The Summoning.

Their fifth album, The Summoning is a somewhat drastic departure from the band’s earlier works.  Originally known for their furious and marathon-length blackened thrash attacks, they have, over the course of the last two or three albums, been streamlining their songwriting and thus shortening the running times of the discs.  Here in 2009 they have delivered an album that at just over 34 minutes is less than half the length of their debut The End.  The differences definitely don’t end there however.  The once prominent black metal sound and feel of the music has been somewhat minimized, resulting in a sound much more in line with the earliest era of speed and thrash metal.  Agent Orange era Sodom, as well as early Destruction and Show No Mercy era Slayer are now strong points of comparison, with even a couple of early Tom Araya falsetto yowls finding their way into the (much more decipherable) vocal repertoire.

None of this is to say that The Summoning isn’t an excellent album though.  It’s just…..different.  Thankfully, what hasn’t changed is that Devastator still cranks out some deadly serious and seriously evil war metal.  The guitar duo of Adrian and Alaric still put together some wicked riffs, and the maniacally sinister soloing is also quite in tact.  Some impressive guitar harmonies show up in “Goetia”, and really the only minor complaint I can find with the musicianship is a slight slip in the timing during some of the blast beats.  The Summoning is enjoyable front to back, and thanks, in part, to the truncated running time, never comes close to dragging or overstaying its welcome.  Definitely recommended.  

Release Date: February 17th, 2009
Label: Old Cemetery Records

TRACK LISTING

1. The Summoning / A Thousand
     and One Nights
2. Evil Spirits
3. Four Emperors
4. The Curse of Fire
5. Necromantical Sleep
6. Goetia
7. Living Creatures of Apocalypse/
    The Sacrifice

Total playing time: 34:20

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