Devangelight

We are at the heart of a northern forest. It’s a full moon night. Snow covers the ground, wind sweeps trees. In the air, we can hear torned screams, together with a furious music… a Scandinavian black metal band is howling its hatred and … what? What you say? Cataplexy is a Japanese band? Well … uh … good. It is therefore with some surprise that I learn this group’s origin. After all, it’s a band that shares most of the stylistic features of a 1990′s Norwegian group! It has not always been so. Founded twenty years ago, this Osaka quartet first played death metal and launched some demos, before taking a ten years long break. It was then reactivated in the mid-2000s, adopted a raw black metal sound and Devangelight is its second full-lenght.

Forget keyboards and other innovations: Cataplexy interprets a quality orthodox black metal. Anyone listening to Taake, Darkthrone and other perky groups is in familiar ground. Initially skeptical before this umpteenth tribute to dark metal founders, I admit I was pleasantly surprised by song writing skills displayed in almost every song. However, interest in these do not depend on their originality (non-existent) but in their general atmosphere, which reproduces quite closely what we can find on most Scandinavian classics. Band manages to surf with talent on the unstoppable second wave of Norwegian black metal, aligning strong songs that never sink into monotony or plagiarism. Rhythms are generally fast, backed by a nervous playing guitar, very focused on treble. Like their colleagues from the other end of the world, this group develops dark and desperate atmospheres, marked by great violence. The assault ends with the excellent and epic Lifelessdawn, which leaves us with a good general impression.

Still, I deplore the complete acculturation of Cataplexy’s members, which could have add a touch of sake to an already sooooo exploited style. All fifty minutee of Devangelight demonstrate that those four samurais have perfectly mastered fjords country’s obscure hymns. Perhaps too well… time will tell us if these Japanese troubadours will be more than just another Darkthrone’s cover band. 6/10

Originally written for Métal Obscur.