The Ninewinged Serpent
Originally formed under the short-lived name of Elizium and then
switching names for a more striking impact upon signing a
worldwide deal with Century Media Records, Sweden's newest metal
threat DEVIAN is the brainchild of former Marduk members Legion
(Vocals, ex Ophthalamia) and Emil Dragutinovic (Drums, also in
The Legion) after their departure from the Black Metal commando
in their strife to come up with a new breed of wretched
Scandinavian Metal. Together with guitarists Joinus and Tomas
Nilsson, DEVIAN form an unstoppable organic extreme Metal
machine driven by a raving hunger and deadset determination.
Rather than simply adjusting to continue on their stylistic path
chosen with the latest Marduk appearances for Legion and Emil,
DEVIAN decided to go for a more dynamic old school vibe, which
is built upon a very catchy combination of melody and
aggression. With references to bands like Slayer, Iron Maiden,
Possessed, Morbid Angel, Dissection or even Motörhead, you will
easily understand that DEVIAN gathers some of the best elements
of blackened Death- and Thrash Metal with strong influence from
traditional Heavy Metal.
After an intense year of songwriting, DEVIAN had collected more
than enough quality material to invade Sweden's Art Decay Studio
with producer Rickard Kottelin (The Legion) for the recordings
of their first opus "Ninewinged Serpent". Mixing duties for the
album were handled by sound-wizard Fredrik Nordström at Studio
Fredman (At The Gates, Arch Enemy, Dimmu Borgir, etc.), while
the final punch in mastering came courtesy of Peter In De Betou
/ Tailor Maid and Greece's dark artwork master Seth (Paradise
Lost, Soilwork, Old Man's Child, etc.) suitably packaged the
release with a very morbid visual theme, which nicely enhances
the album's thick and bleak lyrical content.
Vocalist Legion comments on the album: "It's a pummeling
blackened death thrasher, where we really tried to challenge
ourselves and bring fresh elements to the music compared to our
efforts in previous projects. It's no-bullshit raving metal
straight from the heart charged with uncontrollable anger,
haunting melodies and bone crushing heaviness. It's got a lot of
power and soul and we are all extremely proud of what we've
managed to achieve." "Ninewinged Serpent" is a truly infernal
Scandinavian metal overkill destined to leave sonic scars!
The Illfated God
After the much-lauded debut album “Ninewinged Serpent” in 2007
and a triumphant 7 weeks long European tour with Polish death
metal overlords Vader, Sweden’s blackened death/thrash commando
DEVIAN mercilessly return with a second attack: The furious new
album “God To The Illfated”. Featuring former Marduk members
Legion (vocals) and Emil Dragutinovic (drums), DEVIAN anno 2008
offer an increasingly dynamic, vicious and aggressive sound that
captivates the listener with massive, thrashing riffs, a
heartfelt old school spirit and simply perfectly written songs –
an art seemingly lost in days, where most bands rather show off
their technical skills instead of constructing effective hooks
and epic melodies.
Recorded once again at Art Decay Studio with Rickard Kottelin
throughout the Summer of this year, DEVIAN decided to
subsequently hook up with Hypocrisy / Pain mastermind Peter
Tägtgren for further production duties and the intense mixdown
of the album at The Abyss Studio (Immortal, Marduk, Dimmu
Borgir, etc.) while mastering duties were once again taken care
of by Peter In De Betou / Tailor Maid Production (Dimmu Borgir,
Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquillity, etc.).
Such illustrious sonic set-up didn’t fail and consequently “God
To The Illfated” sounds as honest, natural and powerful as it
ever gets, enhancing DEVIAN’s newest material to document a
giant and very impressing step forwards for the band. Razorsharp
riffs dominate songs like the driving title-track, the catchy
bonebreaker “The Unspoken” and the album’s fierce opening track
“Mask Of Virtue”, whereas mid-tempo monsters like “I’m The
Pariah”, “Awaiting Doom”, “Saintbleeder” or the atmospheric
“When The Vultures Left” should become new highlights of the
band’s live show at instant.
Rounded off by masterly macabre artwork by renowned Greek artist
Seth (Paradise Lost, Exodus, Soilwork, etc.) “God To The
Illfated” is a sensational sophomore effort that is destined to
spread DEVIAN’s qualities and message all over the place. Don’t
miss DEVIAN as part of the “Winterfest” 2009 tour in January
with Deicide, Samael and Vader or catch them on further touring
with Unleashed across Scandinavia.
