DEVAST

I was not quite sure what to think of DEVAST's "Art of Extermination" upon the first few spins of the disc. Beyond any deep musical examination, it is intriguing to think that this kind of swirling tech-death savagery originated from North Africa of all places. But getting to the point, "Art of Extermination" is 23 minutes of mind bending tech-death that is not without merit (or influences for that matter). The quartet just needs to further flesh out its sound before it can be considered one of the upper-tier acts of the tech-death craft.

If you desire easily digested song structuring and melodiousness, then you are advised to stay far away from "Art of Extermination". DEVAST treats its instruments as weapons of mass destruction and seem to have no concern for providing the listener with a tool for meditative thought and surely are not concerned with the creation of a relaxing atmosphere. The fingers of guitarist "Morbid Desecrator" (interesting how aptly his parents named the Algerian, isn't it?) fly all over the fret at lightning speed. Combined with the whirlwind drumming of "Slave Banished" and the four-string poppin' wizardry of A. Aziz, the approach is much like a stake through the heart of serenity. I'm not a big fan of the scratchy growls though; the problem is not severe by any stretch, but a thicker bark would have given the sound a harder punch. As a matter of fact, the early Lord Worm style is not the only part of DEVAST that occasionally reminds of CRYPTOPSY. Then again, it also reminds of a lot of newer, yet old-school-based, tech-death acts, which is part of what keeps "Art of Extermination" from being a DM diamond. Additionally, the recording suffers from a somewhat flat production that does not allow certain key elements, such as the über cool bass parts, to be fully appreciated.

Even so, there is a good deal of jaw dropping — periodically unique even — technicality that is not performed in a way that is dismissive of overall composition. The trick on the next album will be to shore up the arranging to allow the band to carve out a niche of its own. There is just enough of the good stuff here to warrant a "6", but not by much.