DEVA - Murther - Review on MERLINPROG
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Norway
Elizabeth's alter ego , Lilith, gives her "orders" to kill their newborn baby, so to avoid the baby all the suffering it would otherwise go through; and the order is fulfilled. So this is the backdrop for a music course with Gothic features, but also prog artifacts are present in the music, that is epic and symphonic metal as well.
"Between Life And Dreams", the previous Deva album, was so-so , we think , but now, four years later, it's a sort of revenge from this duo, as they€re out with music that is quite different from the self -produced debut album. Except songwriter and guitarist Federico Salerno and opera singer Beatrice Palumbo the other original band members left Deva.
Deva started back in 2003 , and the Italians have undoubtedly improved since then, something that is absolutely evident in the short atmospheric song " Is This What We Really Are", which is a prime example. Just sublime with some exciting samples, acoustic guitar, piano and "very" gentle drums. The song slides right into "Delirium" and to live up to the title, the music is pitched by potent issues and small dramatic operetta-like vocals of Beatrice Palumbo . The song has great progression of chords and then twists and sits like a shot.
"Decadence€ is a melancholic combination, which alternates a classy acoustic texture with more electric guitar fronted goodies and especially Beatrice Palumbo€s superb voice. Here she also engages in a duet with male vocals and it works very well. Good and proper as well is the dramatic and mysterious "Lilith" with a good part of duet whereas female vocals lead the way. Great solos, varied moods and great dynamics also make it such a good song . "Murther" is shaping up as an eclectic record with a lot of samplers which are neatly integrated into the musical frame. Guest artists are doing a great job and contribute to make this work a very good one.
The music has certain common denominators with the English band Threshold, but first and foremost Deva has now managed to cultivate plenty of individuality and uniqueness. The classically trained soprano Beatrice Palumbo has definitely advanced in sound and made a fantastic job. Perhaps some may argue that Palumbo gets too much space, if we want to find something to complain about. The album got a melancholic interpretation but there is really no weak tracks among the fifteen compositions.
This is definitely the best music in progressive gothic metal with classical influences we have heard and we just have to take our hat off and cheer Deva with a standing ovation.
