Devenial Verdict is twenty years old.
Signed to Transcending Obscurity Records since their debut album, the band consists of Riku Saressalo (vocals), Okko Tolvanen (drums, Spiteborn, Rätäk), Sebastian Frigren (guitar, Dirt, Nuclear Omnicide, Rätäk), and Antti Poutanen (bass, Spiteborn, ex-Church of the Dead, ex-Hooded Menace), will release their third album, Old Blood – Fresh Wounds, in 2026.
Rituals of Ignorance kicks off the album with an already abrasive and dissonant sound, immediately plunging us back into their as complex as is polished torrent of violence which effortlessly shifts from an Old School touch to heavy Black/Death accents. Screams are as savage as ever, delivering massive sections that align with Brutal Death elements before transitioning into Swarms of the Mindless, which unleashes an avalanche of devastating riffs at a brisk pace, driven by an uncompromising double kick. While it allows itself a few pauses to thicken the sound, it quickly returns to propel us into Elysium and its sharp harmonics, which transform at will into much more ethereal notes, creating an interesting contrast. Even the solo is more than chaotic, whereas we return to a more controlled technicality for The Unborn God, the next track, where we find a more structured tone, while remaining focused on a violence with multiple influences, particularly in the mysterious sounds. The band takes a brief pause with the introduction of Thrones, a track that starts off slow but suddenly erupts into intensity, occasionally returning to its slower passages, creating one of the album’s most striking contrasts. A new wave of brutality hits with Fall of Faith, the next track, which blends this unbridled aggression with the band’s curiously addictive touch—where the strange rubs shoulders with unexpected patterns, whether groovy or faster much like Sun Hammer, which – as its name suggests – will pound us with all its might at varying speeds. The band nevertheless maintains a very sustained tempo, even when the guitars begin to assault our intellect, letting the bass and drums steer the ship toward The Corinthian, where we also find that persistent and increasingly present touch of convoluted harmonics. The final will fuel the organized chaos before moving on to Despoiler, the final and by far the longest track, which starts off with virulent tones before giving in to madness, blending almost martial passages with its airy touch rooted in the usual prog style, creating a final vortex of violence unlike any other.
If you missed their previous albums, Devenial Verdict will seem even more avant-garde than they already are! Old Blood – Fresh Wounds follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, ramping up its complexity at every turn.
85/100