Devil Dedication

I have received this album a long time ago and every time I listen to it, I always end up with the same question: how is it possible that no label agreed to release this album when it was recorded? I refer to Dom Dracul from Sweden and to their album Devil Dedication. The album was recorded in 2005 and it was released by Sun & Moon records (a label that is not obsessed with a specific style or genre but it releases albums that it likes and that shows how original are the owners) in 2016. The album contains seven compositions of overall duration of about thirty-four minutes. As they did also in the previous album, in this one too, Dom Dracul present a very beautiful mixture of true Heavy/Thrash with Black Metal elements.

Generally, the album has its roots deep into the original, dark Metal of the 80ies, with a lot of dark heavy Metal riffs, slow Doom passages, Bathory – ish elements and fast Thrash bursts. Here we will also come across some very beautiful solos that will excite the listener even more. The Black Metal elements are limited in the dark atmosphere and the Satanic aesthetics of the album, apart from the vocals. The band in this release too, maintains the same style as in the previous one, Cold Grave, but this time their compositions and their abilities show that they have grown and become more mature. The tracks have correct structure and they are not tedious for the listener. Although they are quite long (4-5 minutes each), they manage to avoid becoming repetitive and to deliver the atmosphere and the feelings perfectly.

Every instrument is played flawlessly, with the guitars to acquire the leading role. They have passion and intensity. The guitars are solid, they have absolute accuracy and technic, but without lucking in passion. The bass, here, is more audible than in the previous album and it manages to give a dark and heavy atmosphere to the music. The drums are nothing special, their lines are typical, but they keep the passion of the compositions intense, while they have accuracy and stability both into the slower and the faster parts. The vocals are harsh Black Metal vocals, the kind that I like. Brutal, harsh, passionate, paranoid, possessed. The production and the mixing is very good. The final result of the sound is dark, solid and balanced, highlighting the compositions and it makes the audition easy while at the same time it absolutely fits to the music. The lyrics are not contained into the album, they are written in English, while their themes are clearly what the title tell us, Devil Dedication.

Summing up, Devil Dedication is a very good album which unfairly wasn’t released when it should. Maybe then, the band would have a different evolution. But even today, surely it can win the audience and not only the audience of Black Metal. I believe that the fans of the true Heavy/Thrash as also the fans of the old school Black Metal should give Dom Dracul a chance. Buy it.