Running Sore

Transmission to Chaos had built my expectations significantly for Deviser's ultimate ascension to the Hellenic elite, but its successor Running Sore just as quickly deflated that longing. The band have an arduous time here producing anything that remains in the noggin, and though the individual aesthetics are not necessarily a deviation from the sophomore, the decision to engage in a more vicious and driven strain of black metal does not ultimately succeed. Early on in the track list, it almost felt that the band had returned to the sheer black/thrash roots that they had developed on The Revelation of Higher Mysteries EP, but gradually the synthesizers return in full force and it takes on a more atmospheric bent like its predecessor, only not quite so potent or dynamic.

It really doesn't start off on a strong note, with "Signals from Another World" serving only as a straight thrust of Slayer-inspired black/death metal with coy, repressed rasping and timid flutters of synthesizer deep in its bowels, but "I Am in Awe" transforms back to the symphonic, exotic poise of Transmission to Chaos. I rather dug the escalating, if cheesy keyboards in this one, but the riffs they smother are rather bare boned. "Liber Animus" feels much the same, a construct of flighty, shining flutes and mechanical choirs over some average riffing, which is this time more of a melodic death metal piece. Ditto for "Bemused Minds" and its descending doom motif; ;"From the Starry Voids" and its baleful gallop; or "She Who is to Come", another chugged Gothic/doom tract. The remainder of the record follows in the mold of "Signals...", with scathing but forgettable fast riffing that succeeds as nothing more than a contrast to the more accessible, creeping fare.

The mix is solid enough, though the keys are clearly too bold in places and it creates a striking separation, as if they were trying to 'escape' the dull morass of guitar notation beneath. Hnaras had not lost his aptitude here, but both the snarls and guitars leave much to desire, as if the well of quality had dried up somewhere in the four intermittent years between the sophomore and this. That slump would be nothing, however, compared to the next, with Running Sore providing the last new Deviser material for nearly a decade (outside of a pair of unreleased tunes on Thy Blackest Love (The Early Years) compilation). Since the record feels like the band was clearly running out of steam, and unable to break through to the international market that several of their countrymen (Rotting Christ, Septic Flesh), I can't really blame them for taking some time off to recharge the creative batteries, but Running Sore, while not bad, is not an album I ever look forward to listening through.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

"Running Sore" is a rather difficult album to review, mainly due to it's great range of influences from various sources. The formula of connecting various classical and folk instruments with heavy black and death metal guitar riffs and oriental lead guitar work does sound like a great idea, but is not executed to full effect.

Deviser started out with a strong Hellenic black metal background (check my review for "Thy Blackest Love" for further information) but lost this influence over the years, changing to a faster, more aggressive, but less guitar-driven sound on "Running Sore".

The only remains of their old sound are the vocal patterns laid down by Matt Hnaras. He does sound a tad more aggressive and is also less generic in his delivery. His earlier deeper tone is rarely used anymore, but replaced by throaty and powerful screaming.

One of the most apparent problems with this album is that the keyboard and synths do take the lead over the guitars quite often. There are some excellent riffs to be found here ("I Am In Awe", "Mourn the Dead" - for example) but in many cases, the riffage is toned down in favor of the synthesizer. Don't worry, this is not Dimmu Borgir-toning down, it's still acceptable, but the guitars should stand out more overall.

The synths range from orchestral strings to flutes and to various forms of keyboard effects. Due to that, the sound does sometimes resemble that of "Epoptia" by Kawir, but without the loss of all integrity and song-writing ability.

The guitar work is still strong, but less atmospheric than in the bands earlier days, focusing more on technical and heavy playing. Both death and black metal riffs are used - tremolo picking and triplets are all but rare on this record. Overall, the rhythm guitar is quite catchy, but the almost complete lack of lead guitars is not exactly a good thing, as the synths are not nearly as good as some of the guitar leads on their earlier albums.

Labis is definitely a better drummer than their old one, if not exactly comparable to nowadays drumming heroes. Still, he does a good job on the skins - lots of blastbeats, well-timed doublebass sections and varied cymbal work; his only shortcoming being the lack of innovative or even interesting fills. Not a major gripe though.

Highlights are "I Am In Awe", "Mourn the Dead" and "From the Starry Voids". They are probably the most guitar driven songs and especially "I Am In Awe" shows what this album could have been - it has great riffs, nice guitar leads and shows good use of the synthesizer.

So, if you like synth-driven, yet aggressive black/death metal without the loss of at least a few excellent riffs, you should give "Running Sore" a chance - it's not an amazing or even great album, but it's definitely not a waste of your time either.