The Devil’s Blood – The Thousandfold Epicentre
Release Date: January 17th 2012
Highlights: On the Wings of Gloria, Die the Death, Within the Charnel House of Love, Cruel Lover, The Thousandfold Epicentre, Fire Burning, Everlasting Saturnalia, Feverdance
When my friend Liz emailed me a few months back telling me to check out a band called The Devil’s Blood, the first thing I did was roll my eyes and say to myself, “Um, no.” Why in the world would I listen to a band called The Devil’s Blood? Well, after pondering over this for a day or two I finally decided to take my own advice and not judge a book by its cover. I picked up a copy of the band’s 4th and latest album The Thousandfold Epicentre and what I heard was something that I never imagined I would hear from a band with a name like The Devil’s Blood.
As the opening instrumental “Unending Singularity” played, I immediately was drawn in by the warm, dark, and vintage sound of the recording. I loved what I was hearing but I was bracing myself for the typical slap upside the head of death metal music and cookie monster vocals. Instead, with “On the Wings of Gloria” what I got was a classic 70’s style hard rock/metal sound with some of the most amazing and soulful female singing I’ve yet to hear in a metal band. I was so taken back by this that I was literally sitting there shaking my head in disbelief. The fact that I was going to write this band off based solely on their name just killed me.
Lead by guitarist/songwriter Selim Lemouchi and his lead vocalist sister Farida Lemouchi, The Devil’s Blood calls upon their 60’s and 70’s hard rock influences ranging from Iron Butterfly and Black Sabbath to Blue Oyster Cult and Pentagram to create psychedelic, heavy metal experience that takes you on a music journey of the senses. The Thousandfold Epicentre is heavy, melodic, soulful, and even sensual collection of songs like “She”, “Cruel Lover”, and my personal favorite “Die the Death.” The title track, “The Thousandfold Epicentre” is an epic 9 minute with a rhythmic army of guitars, a driving groove, tempo changes, and haunting layered vocals that literally sent a chill up my spine the first time I heard it. This ended up being a song that got many repeat listens as it truly is a unique and interesting piece to take in. The album closes with yet another epic piece of metal bliss titled “Feverdance” which clocks in at a whopping 15 minutes. It was a perfect way to close out a spectacular album which left me wanting more.
The Devil’s Blood is not your typical heavy metal band. This is a band that is doing some of the most exciting and fulfilling music that I have heard in quite a while. In a world surrounded by death metal, thrash metal, and any other kind of metal you can imagine, The Devil’s Blood creates music that cuts through it all and presents itself to the listener as something that can sweep you away from it all. The Thousandfold Epicentre is a musical journey of the senses and it’s a sonic masterpiece that will no doubt find a welcome home in your collection. Just remember the lesson that I learned. Don’t judge a book by its cover because after all, it’s what lies within that truly matters at the end of it all.
About The Author
