Devilmentertainment Non-Stop

I’ve always been a fan of experimental / industrialised side of black metal and considered bands like Mysticum, Thorns, Aborym and DHG as some of my favourites. There was simply something unique in their sound, something equally disturbing and possessing, not to mention the fact that sometimes I was getting tired with the traditional, primitive black metal and then opted for something more original and lethal. To this day I think that “Thorns” and “In the Stream of Inferno” are some of the best metal albums I’ve ever had a chance to listen to. So, also nowadays such playing is my weakness… Abigor’s “Fractal Possession”, Aborym’s “With No Human Intervention” or Thee Maldoror Kollective’s “New Era Viral Order (Dogma Slaughterhouse and the Children of Anaemia)” are just few examples for stunning albums that are a must for those, who would like to listen to something more unusual, extreme but dark as the darkest pits of hell. Recently I had a chance to listen to the new album from Polish Iperyt, which was also pretty cool and now here’s another album from the experimental black metal genre. Plutonium is Swedish and „Devilmentertainment Non-Stop” is a second album of that project (which I think is just an one-man band at the moment?). I have no idea though whether the debut was anything good or not, but „Devilmentertainment Non-Stop” (what a tongue twister here!) is more than interesting.

Basing my opinion on the first seconds of the opening song, „A Tribute to the Tools of the Cosmic Abortionist”, I didn’t expect anything particularly intriguing. It may be due to not the best guitar sound and drum machine, as well as rather uninspiring black metal riffing in the beginning… Whatever. The fact is that the first song is nothing beyond the mediocre, pretty standard black metal. There may be quite cool part in it, when Plutonium used some electronic sounds, but that basically is all about it. Then it smoothly goes to the title song, which again begins with the fast black metal riffing, but later introduces more experimental parts, again with the electronics and more unconventional riffing. And that’s cool, it’s definitely more interesting than if the band was going through the whole track with the same kind of standard black metal playing. Anyway at that point my interest in „Devilmentertainment Non-Stop” started to grow, as I’ve noticed that Plutonium has a lot of similarities to bands like Blacklodge, whose “Login: Satan” album brings similar balance between raw and furious black metal and mechanical, inhuman industrial sounds.

But my favourite part is of the album is yet to come. The best things on „Devilmentertainment Non-Stop” Plutonium left for the second part of the CD. There are such excellent tracks as “Peace Keeper” (which is almost ambient / industrial song, in the vein of Puissance, which sounds absolutely killer in my opinion) and „Det Doda Exemplets Makt (Two Minute Hate Part II)”. Such tracks diversify the album, creating cold and almost sick atmosphere in it, way better than the mediocre and typical riffing from the beginning of the album. Finally there are my favourite tracks: „Unintelligent Design” and „Nuclear War Incense”, which remind the one and only Thorns. Yeah, the opening riff from „Unintelligent Design” is played and arranged like all of Snorre’s songs, with that characteristic way of slow, almost crawling, but mechanical riffing… Brilliant. Even the vocals have been sang in similar way, but I guess it was just natural that one thing forces the other to pop in, as they match together perfectly. Well, some may accuse Plutonium for nothing more, but ripping off the style of Thorns, but if Satyricon got away with that on “Rebel Exravaganza”, then why not? Besides, I can only admire the guy behind Plutonium (J. Carlsson) for composing such cool eight minutes long songs, which would capture my attention completely, from the start to the end. And „Nuclear War Incense” is very similar and again powerful and killer song.

“Zero Swarm” is also a great track, with almost symphonic and more melodic parts, what again brings more diversity to already well varied music. Finally, the whole album is finished with “Hell Is All Around”, which again starts with that marching rhythms, known from the Norwegian cults, but later it speeds up a bit, bringing more connections to Mysticum maybe, but the atmosphere in it is again dark, grim and cold and makes great impression on me, definitely. And so I can truly say that „Devilmentertainment Non-Stop” was a big surprise to me. I haven’t really expected anything from it, but that’s maybe even better when all of a sudden you get hit by such cool album. I must recommend it to all of those, who like the bands I’ve mentioned in this review, but also to those, who simply like good and solid black metal. Don’t be afraid of Plutonium, it isn’t a techno or whatever crap, only because they’ve used some electronics.

Standout tracks: „Unintelligent Design”, „Nuclear War Incense”, “Hell Is All Around”, “Peace Keeper”

I’m a casual fan of industrial music, especially bands like Wumpscut, VNV Nation, Velvet Acid Christ and Haujobb. I’m also, as you probably ascertained, a black metal fanatic and I’ve heard my fair share of industrialized black metal. While most has not been memorable enough for me to even recall the name of any one band that actually began as an industrial band, Plutonium from Sweden doesn’t do a bad job with its Devilmentertainment Non-Stop CD, which houses recordings made in 2008-09.

What you hear is what you get with Plutonium, and that’s some harsh industrial music wrapped in the comfortable blankets of black metal sensibilities. While not as violent and ear-shattering as Wumpscut, this CD can disrupt your comfort zone pretty adequately if you let it. With an opener like “A Tribute to the Tools of the Cosmic Abortionist” literally slapping you into attention I must admit the constant barrage of blast beats got to me after a bit, but it’s a fine beginning to an album rife with peculiar time changes, musical shape-shifting and straight-ahead black metal riffs from Hell. The slowing and stopping between volatile outbursts plays out like a musical Poe tale that leads you into corners and shadows unfamiliar and frightening. Second to nothing is the music, which catapults your consciousness up and over the normal expectations. Black industrial can actually resonate if implemented in a sincere fashion, and once the title track starts to ingrain into your head like a thorny crown you’ll know this isn’t an recording you’re likely to forget like most others. In short, it’s a very good album that takes bombastic blackness to a new and exalted level.

“The Misery King” is your blueprint black metal song that is the familiar line to follow, but the hints of industrialization are always seeping into the music. I’m not sure if it’s the guitar tone that sets it apart from a ‘normal’ black metal sound, but you can certainly tell there’s a foreign element to the song. I like the prevalent bass in the recording; it resounds even in the louder areas of the tunes, which is an oddity that it’s done so well; usually when attention is paid to the bass it’s turned up so loud that you can hear it pounding out of thumping cars at stop lights, making you seriously consider a career as a professional hit man. This is done well enough to make its presence known and intelligently enough to appease the more cantankerous fan like me who happens to be a bassist. A happy bassist makes for a good reviewer…remember that. The overall dark features of this album are never lost in the over-saturation of the industrial nuances simply because they aren’t overdone and are considerably generous in their time-sharing with typical the black metal feel. That’s a true black industrial album and we have it here.

I’m anxious to hear something else from this band in the future; if the train of thought with Plutonium remains the same as it is here then I’m sure you’ll be as enticed and intrigued by this band as I am. It’s really a fine effort in terms of good underground metal and will attract fans of both genres once thought worlds apart.

(Originally written for www.MetalPsalter.com)