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Deviant > Apathyphus > Reviews
Deviant - Apathyphus

Departure or reform? - 87%

PazuzuZlave, August 20th, 2008

In this case, definitely departure. As it seems to a casual listener of death metal (= me), this young band from Sweden freshens the whole scene with this release. I didn’t appreciate their first full-length, but it was however good for what it was; a debut album. Luckily the band found a massive portion of bravery after its release and came up with this: three new songs and a cover of Nasums Inhale/Exhale. Daring, since their debut was easily accessible, one-sided and safe. Or basically everything this is not. *Fearless*

Not counting the Nasum cover, this fits right in under your ten-minute coffee afternoon coffee break. And what a coffee break it is. Self-titled “Apathypus” is the thunderstorm opener this EP needs. How glad I am that they decided not to include a minute’s intro or so, because it wouldn’t have worked as well. When it kicks in, I immediately notice how quickly these guys have evolved from mere apprentices to talented wielders of their weapons. The greatest improvement award has to go to the vocalist.

No more tired howls with a whispering overtone. This guy sounds confident and gives a solid performance throughout the whole mayhem. The drummer showed some potential on their previous release, but it is here that he gets to show what he’s capable of. Obviously, he’s having a blast playing his set, since the songs themselves have taken a more varied form since my last encounter with Deviant. His parts are very well written and sound too designed to be improvised. Still, prepared or unprepared, the drummer shows his great skills with grandeur.

“To give ends” is a little more straight-forward. Blastbeating away, varied with some slow parts, it’s the riffs that forces you to stay focused with it. And the riffs... What happens to be my favourite type of riffs are spread all over the disc. There is not such a thing as a dry moment with these guitarists. “Weak and withered” is the last new song, and is a little bit slower in pace. I already mentioned the phrase “straight-forward”, and it is really the least demanding of the songs. It sounds great though. I have no idea where the whole thing was recorded, but it features a production better than 95 % of all releases featuring death metal today. Some people may find it a little thin, but I think it’s pretty much wonderful.

Sadly, Inhale/Exhale is not much to get thrilled about. It sounds pretty much like the original, and does no good to this otherwise solid release. Another downside would be that it’s way too small an amount of material to get excited about. I want more, and I’ve wanted it for a year already. How long am I supposed to wait? I sure as hell hope they will release something new relatively soon, because with the direction they took, the future looks bright for them.

I don’t think this is too easy to get your hands on today. If you however manage to find it somewhere, don’t think twice. I’m not too great at making comparisons, but the fast parts remind me quite a lot of Nasums last two records. If you’re into that, there shouldn’t be a reason why you haven’t heard this yet.