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Devlin > Grand Death Opening > Reviews
Devlin - Grand Death Opening

Sinner's Paradise - 95%

xfactor1987, November 20th, 2006

While reading, keep in mind that I wrote this for a class:

When I found out that I had the chance to review anything of my choice, I immediately decided on a CD review. The only problem was deciding which album to review. Literally hundreds of potential choices went through my head. I finally made my choice based on what album had the best mix of all of the styles of music I enjoy. This album is Devlin’s "Grand Death Opening." It combines influences from 80’s punk, black metal, classical music, and darkwave music to form their own entire sound. They have flawless guitar work, excellent male vocals, adequate female vocals and perfectly dark lyrics. It is a flawless combination and it has elements that any music lover can enjoy.

The album starts off strong with my personal favorite track, “Underworld.” They build into a guitar riff intermixed with orchestral elements. The guitar work perfectly suits the vocals and orchestral arrangements. They seem to fit each other like a glove–the vocals covering the music perfectly. The male vocals seem to be the better of the two. Marcus Ehlin truly has his own vocal style: a low growl that is still understandable. The female vocals are, however, adequate yet unoriginal. They are not horrible, but they are not the best they could be. The singer, who is only known as Lexi, has a beautiful voice with some rough edges. One possible reason for this would be the fact that she had to learn the lyrics and songs only two weeks prior to recording. The previous vocalist that Ehlin had chosen for this project left the group at this time. Ehlin had to find a vocalist fast, and Lexi proved more than worthy by being willing and able to learn the lyrics so quickly. I feel that she was an adequate choice given the circumstances.

The lyrics are another selling point for this album. They are very dark and depressed and give insight to the inner struggle of Ehlin. In his own words he says, “The lyrics on 'Grand Death Opening' were written during one of the hardest times in my life, and it would be rather strange if that wouldn't color the words. But I don't see myself as a destructive person…If I somewhat glorify suicide/dying in my lyrics, it is only because I find beauty in death.” Many of the lyrics are obviously about vampires. “Underworld” cannot be about anything else. Stating that they are “woeful fiends at night” and they will “turn against the light” cannot be anything other than vampirism. Much of the lyrics, as Ehlin stated, do have to do with death and suicide. These lyrics provide a dark overtone to fit the dark undertone of the music. This is an evil masterpiece deserving the utmost respect from any listener.

The instrument work is flawless in this masterpiece. Marcus Ehlin is the sole instrumentalist in this project, aside from a few guitar solos performed by Fredrik Folkare. Both Folkare and Ehlin are very skilled musicians. Ehlin is very diverse and well rounded, being the sole performer of the guitar, bass, drums, and any effects used. He is consistently good at every instrument he uses. The guitar work fits the music perfectly and the drums are all right on cue. The effects used help provide a great atmosphere as well. They use one effect where there is a fade in of the instruments followed by a pause and then they come in full force. This is my personal favorite and it goes great with the ensuing guitar riffs. The guitar solo work done by Fredrik Folkare is second to none. They fill the gaps in vocals perfectly and they were a great addition to this album.

One questionable addition to this album, however, would be the cover song of Billy Idol’s “White Wedding.” This is a very odd track in an album full of much darker music. Not to say that this song is not dark. This is a very dark song in Billy Idol’s history. However, I do not feel that this fits in very well with the album. That being said, it is still very well done. Although Lexi is the only vocalist on this track, she seems to pull it off quite well, even going into very strong and loud vocal parts. It showcases her talents more than ever and is one of her best tracks on the album.

This project has been around since 1994, eight years before being able to record their album. The only reason he was not able to record with this project sooner is because of his obligation to his main project, the better known black metal band Siebenbürgen. This album was recorded and released in the year 2002, and at the time Marcus Ehlin was also the vocalist of Siebenbürgen. He was not able to continue recording with Devlin at the time because Siebenbürgen began work on new album pretty much right after "Grand Death Opening" was released. I believe that Ehlin should continue with this project now that Siebenbürgen is indefinitely split-up. There would be nothing to stop his creativity, and it is a fitting new project for his talents. His talents should not be wasted, and although he has recently started a great new project called Grand Illusion, he should not abandon Devlin. This album showed much promise and he and Lexi should continue with it. They put together too great of an album for this to be the last showing of their collective talents.

With "Grand Death Opening" Devlin shows that they have the talent and the skill to create a beautifully dark masterpiece that is unmatched in its own genre. I would highly recommend this album to any fan of black metal, darkwave, or just a fan of music in general. This album truly has something for everybody and I have found it to be one of my favorite albums in my collection. In short, go out and buy this album.