Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Divine Eve - Vengeful and Obstinate Review


Divine Eve - Vengeful and Obstinate
EP, Ibex Moon Records, January 16th, 2010

After a good 15-16 years of complete silence, this often overlooked death/doom band finally returns with some new material. Many people will tell you their last EP; As The Angels Weep, was something of a legendary release that really never found the acclaim it deserved. So now Divine Eve returns hoping to make up some lost time and possibly find the audience they had always searched for. Most of the music on this new EP is slow to mid-paced, although they do manage to inject a few moments of faster, almost old-school grind-ish tendencies. There is no question that Divine Eve is very much influenced by the legendary Celtic Frost / Hellhammer legion. Their style drips with a kind of old-school worship for these bands. Not in a rip-off kind of way, but unquestionably influenced by them.

There are a few moments on this release where the band shifts to an almost 'classic' style of metal riffing, eschewing the more standard doom rhythms. In these moments the band find themselves a bit more able to stray from the typical stereotypes of death/doom. There is also a few moments where the band implements an interesting horn tone, which help deepen the atmosphere.

I enjoyed this release, but do have a few issues with it. For one, its incredibly short. These guys should really consider doing a full-length for the first time in their existence. Secondly, there are times when the pace just drags along, in the moments where the horn and other styled riffing are implemented, it helps greatly. I would love to see Divine Eve really explore this kind of atmosphere more and experiment a bit with their sound. This may really separate them from the pack in the future...So all in all, an enjoyable release with a ton of potential. They just need to make longer albums and try to expand more, sonically.

Reviewed by E. - 6.5/10

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