DEVASTATOR
DEVASTATOR '"Conjurers of Cruelty"
By Dr. Abner Mality
Here's a bunch that don't piss around...they get right to the business of delivering evil black thrash in the spirit of the VENOMous 80's. They hail from the grimy depths of the UK, which have spawned many a devil-worshipping band. DEVASTATOR robs the graves of the masters for many of the riffs you'll hear on "Conjurers of Cruelty" and don't apologize for it. This is ugly and mean!
The title track has a slow and moody build-up, works itself into a kind of "South of Heaven" groove and then hits the fuckin' gas with a ferocious SLAYERized riff. Derivative or not, this is some pretty goddamn awesome stuff. "Black Witchery" brings an eviL rocking vibe to the forefront, reminding me a lot of MIDNIGHT at full blast. This is some serious neck-wreckage!
DEVASTATOR seem to revel in showing all their varied classic influences. "Ritual Abuse"(Evil Never Dies) is pure ONSLAUGHT worship, fierce and fiery, but then switches gears into a trebly black metal motif reminiscent of NECROPHOBIC. So it goes, as one cut will have a savage German thrash influence like "Necromantic Lust" but the next will slow things up and try a more mid-paced crunch like "Deathspell Defloration". As you can tell from the song titles, these evil bastards live for the goat, beer and bullet-belts. I do think that some of the longer tracks like "Deathspell Defloration" and 'Rabid Morbid Death" don't pack the punch of the shorter, more bloodthirsty ones.
I can't give DEVASTATOR the highest marks because of their blatant lack of any originality, but when it comes to just primal raging fury, this is...ahem...devastating.