The Devastator -Self-Titled EP Review

In case anyone has failed to notice, The Devastator is an amazing fucking band. Their live show pretty much demolishes every other act in Michigan, perhaps because they are just genuinely good guys who love playing death metal.

I recently obtained their self-titled EP and sat down to give it a solid listening, and to be quite honest, I found it refreshingly different than most death metal albums that come out today. Sure, they do have the breakneck guitar speeds, tons of blasts and double bass, and the token death metal shrieks and growls, but The Devastator brings their own nuances to each.

The EP opened strong with “Black Rapture”, a track that brings to mind the older work of Deicide, before they beat the religion horse to death and they were considered “edgy” or even taboo to a certain extent.

My favorite song on the EP came next. “Futile Sacrifice” is fast, heavy, and evil as shit. The lyrical genius that is Clint Harkness has somehow mastered the art of speaking clearly even while roaring into the microphone which, trust me, is no easy feat.

Where “Futile Sacrifice” was straight up speed and evil, the next track, “Anticipation of Death”, is even faster, but instead of focusing on religion, they go for the blood and guts that built death metal into what it is today. Think Cannibal Corpse with an even sicker sense of macabre humor, and riffs that are catchy, but still complicated.

“Exocannibalism” and “The Organ Donor” wrap up the EP with all the combined skill and intelligence that The Devastator had displayed on all of the previous tracks, and I feel it’s worth mentioning that there were no breakdowns on this album. There were no fancy time signatures, no gimmicks, and no frills. The Devastator has created an album that they can be proud of because it can stand on its own. I can guarantee that any fan of Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Vital Remains, Suffocation, and even quite a few Slayer fans, will devour this album and be begging for more. The only question I have is when the hell is the full-length album coming out?

-DOC