Album Review: Devourer – Across the Empty Plains (Iron Blood And Death)

Across the Empty Plains is the second album from Swedish black metal band, Devourer. Already available digitally, the album is getting a physical release on September 15th 2017 via Iron Blood and Death.

With a blast of instruments, the blackness rolls in like a thick fog.

A traditional style of black metal, Across the Empty Plains is ten tracks of gut-rumbling aggression. A fiery album that is coming off the back of a tough time for guitarist/bassist Falk. He was suffering from depression and opiate addiction, which put most of his musical activities on hold for almost two years.

After being forced into treatment by the Swedish law of mandatory treatment for abusers and alcoholics he has returned with a white-hot drenching of fury.

Unrelenting in force; Insania & Perdition absolutely slay with the only break into melody coming during the final few seconds of the latter. Both solid tracks, the album really comes alive though on Nexus of Evil. An absolute rager of a track, bookended by the speeding riffs that make up the album, it’s the deep & booming middle that is gob-smackingly good. The heaviest of heavy…darkness has never seemed so inviting.

The album just gets better & better as it goes on. The soaring riffs of the title track, the bile-inducing heaviness of Finem Vitae Cura, the flesh-ripping hooks of Extirpation & the devouring finale of Omega. Not a shred of humanity will be left by time the final crushing blows are dealt but you won’t care.

Simply brilliant.

Devourer – Across the Empty Plains Full Track Listing:

1. Insania
2. Perdition
3. Nexus of Evil
4. Across the Empty Plains
5. Deeds of Rancor
6. Finem Vitae Cura
7. Throne of Agony
8. Extirpation
9. A Misanthropic Introspective
10. Omega

You can pick up the digital version of the album as well as earlier releases over on Bandcamp & via Devourer’s official website here. Make sure you check them out on Facebook, Twitter & MySpace!