The Devil Tunes

Dead Samaritan is a melodic death metal outfit out of Finland that rose from the ashes of the previously-monikered The Beauty of Dying. Their output since their renaming has been somewhat scattered over the years (it happens, not knocking 'em for it) with a few demos flitting about the Euro-metal scene for quite a while before they were able to buckle down and unleash two full lengths, with this being their latest (and possibly greatest?)...

Taking a more melodic end of things versus simply blasting into infinity, "The Devil Tunes" isn't what I'd consider wholly original in the realm of European metal, but it still has plenty of energy and decent ideas to keep it from being too samey and uninteresting for its own good. The general feel of the material evokes a dark and horror-like atmosphere amidst the chunky riffing and tangibly twisty harmonies, with moments here and there of more legit death metal-oriented grooves and brutal approaches. Certain tracks and sections have a level of energy and excitement afoot more than others and there really isn't a time in which it sounded "tired", a trait I've found with many modern melodeath acts out there, with a good amount of earnest honesty with the songwriting and presentation even if the style isn't really anything considered groundbreakingly exciting to a lot of folks out there, but even then one can still have some fun with it in spite of its own limitations (the haunting harmonics of "The Madman's Portrait" are a great example of such). It's all in what you could take away from it all, I suppose, and sometimes the best a group can do is just write good tunes, which these guys'n'gal seem capable of when they put their heads to it.

Riffs rule the day with nary a synth note to be heard, which in itself is quite different than what many would expect (I mean, c'mon, Finnish melodeath...) and tend to leap from one to the next with a sense of abandon and at least a general idea of structure ensuring that notation and progressions don't sound slapdash while vocalist Valendis, at the forefront, shoots for a realistically grim method given her personal tone of voice fitting the scheme of things nicely...at least for a while. The further into it all you go, however, the more flat it comes off as; she doesn't stray from the middle range all that often and just may grate on folks hoping for even a little bit of verbal gymnastics. All that said, though, every once and again a song at hand will careen about and conclude abruptly right when you're ready leap into the thick of it (e.g. the title track kinda sputters out in the end). As well, the thick and somewhat blurry sounding production doesn't offer a lot of bite to the guitar and bass lines, or at least as much as you'd think or want. It feels and sounds more home-brewed than ultimately glossy and it's not the worst I'd heard, yet a bit more tightness in the post-production phase and less bottom end could have only worked for the better. But maybe that's just me...

All in all "The Devil's Tunes" is an interesting and competently performed album that has darkness and ideas to spare but ultimately isn't anything you haven't heard before. But hey, if the worst a band can do is take an existing style and make it work, then that's worth something, yes? From melodic to traditional death metal, many of you out there may find something to take home with.