{"id":11172,"date":"2013-03-22T00:00:29","date_gmt":"2013-03-22T00:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=11172"},"modified":"2013-07-20T11:49:57","modified_gmt":"2013-07-20T11:49:57","slug":"album-review-devil-gather-the-sinners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-devil-gather-the-sinners\/","title":{"rendered":"DEVIL – Gather The Sinners (2013) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

DEVIL
Gather The Sinners<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nSoulseller (2013)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Gather The Sinners<\/em> is the second release from Norway\u2019s Devil, another of those creaky doom-laden metal \u2019n\u2019 roll bands who\u2019ve mastered the art of sounding old yet modern! Sure, this kind of stuff is now out there in abundance, but there are a handful of bands that do it so much better \u2013 Devil being one of those.<\/p>\n

I have to admit that any band who names themselves after \u201cThe Horned One\u201d have a lot to live up to, but thankfully these guys aren\u2019t a flash in the pan (excuse the pun!).<\/p>\n

First and foremost, what strikes me about this five-piece is their ability to carve out infectious grooves that combine dirty blues with whiskey-drenched Black Sabbath<\/a>-styled rock. Devil incorporate elements of folklore too, thus making Gather The Sinners<\/em> a rather mystical opus where under-produced drums accompany crusty vocals, and where sullen bass slots nicely against distorted guitar.<\/p>\n

Fans of Saint Vitus will certainly find this slab appealing. Vocalist Joakim Trangsrud holds a commanding presence over this record, as he preaches and prowls the night with lyrics of darkness, all the while keeping the opus accessible alongside those big bad dirty grooves.<\/p>\n

Album opener \u2018Southern Sun\u2019 is a minor classic that has all the grace of a dirty elephant as it plods into view on a Sabbath-inspired riff, while \u2018They Pale\u2019 is more of an upbeat rocker with its occult-fueled go-go riff and killer melody. Trangsrud shines most on this groove-based monster that evokes images of late 60s \/ early 70s psych-fuzz, and his vocal hints at Rob Zombie at times amidst that hooky guitar sound.<\/p>\n

There is something remotely mainstream about Devil, the outfit having no problem shifting between doom-laden rock (\u2018Coffin Regatta\u2019) or the two part epic \u2018Mother Shipton\u2019 (based on the true story of an English prophetess) with its gnarly guitar sound courtesy of the twin crust attack of Kai Wander\u00e5s and Stian Fossum. On \u2018Mother Shipton\u2019, Trangsrud is more Cronos (Venom) than anything else, with his mournful sneer complimenting the whining banshee guitars. \u2018Beyond The Gate\u2019 flirts with psychedelia, while \u2018Ladies Of The Night\u2019 is a more straightforward garage rock affair.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d find myself enchanted by Devil, but I\u2019ve given this opus a number of spins, charmed by its direct approach and stab at authenticity. Considering how much of this stuff is creeping from the cracks, Gather The Sinners<\/em> is very much showcasing the talents of a band reaching its peak, and I look forward to their third full-length offering knowing full well that I am now in the grip of the Devil!<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DEVILGather The Sinners Soulseller (2013)Rating: 8\/10 Gather The Sinners is the second release from Norway\u2019s Devil, another of those creaky doom-laden metal \u2019n\u2019 roll bands who\u2019ve mastered the art of sounding old yet modern! Sure, this kind of stuff is now out there in abundance, but there are a handful of bands that do it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,571],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-devil"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11172"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13098,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11172\/revisions\/13098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}