I first learned of DEVASTATOR thanks to my good friend Tito in late 2014. I was getting ready to move from Dallas, TX back to the Philly area and right before I unplugged my computer to pack it away he sent me a video of this band. Well, I was so enthralled that I ordered a CD/T-shirt bundle for their last album Through Oceans of Flesh. They play an uncompromising style of Death Metal that is akin to battleship guns punching holes in the hull of a weaker vessel until it sinks. So when I first got wind of new album The Throne Belongs to Us (March 17, Kernkraftritter Records) and crushing first single “Unleash Your Ardent Longing” I knew I was in for a treat here.
“Dread and Horror, Washed Ashore” is proof positive of that, vocalist Lenny sounding like he’s just swallowed gasoline then lit his throat on fire. On “Crushing Down” drummer Eggi pounds and blast beats his way over and through everything in his path, while guitarists Wolf and Carsten load and reload their clips full of machine gun riffs. Bassist Nick launches rockets on this one and you can feel his notes right in your chest. Title Track “The Throne Belongs to Us” is also one that moves the selector switch from semi to full auto from start to finish. See if some teeth aren’t knocked loose after this one, why don’t you?
For “Against Overwhelming Odds” I guess the band just decided that they’d harness every bit of pissed-off energy they had towards everyone in the world and then press RECORD, because there’s no other explanation for a track so goddamn savage. Quite frankly I can’t believe the studio was still standing after this was recorded. “Pork” is an interesting tune where the guitars act like a veritable meat grinder, Wolf and Carsten just chopping shit up. “You Are Not Who You Pretend to Be and Everybody Knows It, Especially You” just might take the award for Most Angry Track On the Record, because Lenny is growling like a man possessed on this one, and the venom being spat feels way too real.
Now admittedly the beginning to “Of Hatred and Void” threw me for a second, but the band gets right to business rather quickly. This wasn’t exactly one I loved, but it’s not bad either. “Creation’s Crowning Glory” is a straightforward pummeler and the interlude of “76” just jackhammers you into submission. “Birth. Odyssey. Death.” is another song where Lenny just owns that bitch while the band behind him sets everything ablaze. Closing the disc is “The Urge to Decimate” which was one of my favorites from the day I got this fucker in my mailbox. A track like this is everything I want in my Death Metal: ripping vocals, slice-you-to-bits guitar work, thunderous bass, and skull-crushing drums, all of which are on full display here.
At the end of the day DEVASTATOR have put forth one motherfucking monster of an album with The Throne Belongs to Us. Anyone and everyone who loves Death Metal needs to buy it on release day. This is a band that continues to get better and better with each record, and I can’t wait to see what the Hell they come up with next after something like this. I also wish they could tour the U.S. because if they did, the extreme metalheads would show up in droves, I just know it. Grab your copy on March 17 and tell us what you think, hey?
STANDOUT TRACKS: “Unleash Your Ardent Longing”, “The Urge to Decimate”, “Crushing Down”, “Birth. Odyssey. Death.”, “The Throne Belongs to Us”, “Against Overwhelming Odds”
RATING: 9.3/10
