Genre: Death metal
Origin: The Netherlands
Released: 2009
Website: Devious
Label: Deity Down Records
Uploaded: 17.01.10

I have to admit that despite the fact that I�ve heard good things about Devious in the past, this is the first album I�ve heard. This is the second album on Deity Down, and considering all the raving reviews of the predecessor one do get fairly high hopes. But I have to be honest and say I didn�t really care for it at first, I felt it was decent but rather bland. It took some listens before I really got the hang of it. One of the problems I had with the album was the vocal department, as I thought the growl to be very uncharismatic. Absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it just lacks that particular little extra to really feel like a punch in the gut. I don�t think about the vocals anymore, maybe I�ve just grown accustomed to them after several listens or I�ve realized they�re better than I first thought. But I guess that last part goes for the entire recipe.
Man, they really have some cool shit going on with the riffing. It definitely took quite some listens before I (at least I think I have) discovered every little nook and cranny. While the main riffing of a track can go in one direction there are constantly little goodies thrown into the mix every now and then. Incredibly heavy groove is an essential part in their music, and with every little change of tempo there�s a little goodie to be heard. A couple of tracks are downright astonishing in groove, but without ever overdoing it and becoming tedious. One of these is Impulse overload, which has a wicked recurring melodic guitar lead breaking the wave of massive groove. The drumming is tight-as-hell, and as the music takes on tons of different tempos the drums are seemingly taking the lead into the fray. With the great and powerful production you can almost feel every beat coursing through your body (of course; if you have the music on loud enough, hehe).
It does have a certain level of technicality to it, although not extremely focused on it. Some tracks go off in a more raging, straight-forward kind of way while others are a little more laidback, and every now and then the music will change on you. It�s fairly atmospheric at times, and to help with that some keys have been used, but thankfully very sparsely. It's only on a couple of occasions that I really notice the keys are there, for the most time it just has an effect but doesn�t reveal itself. It�s a great album, lying somewhere in between Hypocrisy and a more sane Origin (without hyper-blasting and ultra-brutality, but still�).

Tracklist:
01. Heritage of the reckless
02. False identity
03. Respiration of fear
04. Abide
05. Impulse overload
06. Predefined
07. Validate
08. Disconnect