Some would have you believe that the glory days of the metal underground have passed; that the spirit of denim and leather, bullets and studs and headbanging through the pain barrier were left behind in the near mythical eighties. Well, if metal has moved on into a new sanitised age, if its essence is no longer infused with booze, sweat, Satan and dangerous volume levels, then nobody told Devastator…or maybe they did, but this band just don’t give a fuck.
Opening up with a riff that’s equal parts Venom and Motörhead, Devastator’s full length debut album, Baptised In Blasphemy, roars out of the starting gates and never looks back. The riffs scramble over each other, fighting, tearing, rending their way to the front, while wild, screaming solos paint the sky above with blood and fire. These are songs for the stage, songs to push amps past the point of destruction, songs that hit you like a steel clad fist. From the roaring speed metal anthem of Howling Night, through the primal satanic revelry of Worship The Goat and the irreverent filth of Death Slut, on to the final assault of Baptised In Blasphemy itself, a violent wave of Razor-like riffing and stygian blackness. This is a blood pact, a pledge of allegiance to dark, defiant metal, forged in hell. Devastator are here to grind your face into the fact that real underground metal never died, grew up or moved on – it’s always been here, an inverted crucifix in one hand, a well-worn copy of the first Bathory album in the other.
Devastator live for the thrill of live performance, but they have managed to channel that unharnessed power and excitement and capture it all on Baptised In Blasphemy. Turn it up, close your eyes and you’ll taste that cheap beer and feel the heat of the lights. When Clobber Records unleash this monster on July 10th grab hold and never let go. Bang your head, sell your soul and laugh in the face of everything life can throw at you – because this black flame will never go out!
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