With new additions to their lineup, Nyseius has produced a sophomore album that continues much of what their first one did, attenuating its sheer blasting power with some decent melodies. De Divinatione Daemonum's adherence to the Norwegian school of black metal means that the music travels down some rather familiar pathways, but their lonely, minor-key tunes, tremolo-picked to the brutality of the backing tracks, are still quite good.

Production-wise, De Divinatione Daemonum is excellent; neither lo-fi nor mixed too smoothly, the listener's attention goes straight to the noisy guitar and drums, which dominate while still leaving plenty of room for the bass. Vocalist/lead guitarist Daeloth lends his raspy growl well to Extinction of the Seven Divine Spirits, but his guitar leads are also great to hear, and (again, the mixing) stand out well any time he plays them, answered occasionally by a tormented-sounding choir chorus. Job's Revelation is faster and more aggressive, with much less art to it but a whole lot of blasting fury -- a great track to give fellow riders a headache if one has commandeered the car's stereo -- while Lamentation Prayers takes a break from that with a dark sussurus of sighing and jingling chimes.

Despite Daeloth's voice being completely different, his ringing guitar and the song structure used reminds me somewhat of Inquisition. But while similar in the brooding menace of their composition, songs like Lucifer Contemplation have much more urgency to their guitar-blasting while still keeping the bleak and desolate character of the sound; the melodies, as mentioned before. Black God Ascension, finishing the album out, starts with the blistering attack that Lucifer Contemplation turned into, but ends quietly, the demonic howling of the guitars settling down to a low grumble.

This is a nice one to listen to, especially given the production, which kvlt purists might dislike, but which actually reveals more of the scope of the music than slavish devotion to lo-fi recording would. Nyseius' continuing use of melody is a refreshing change from more traditional black metal followers, and that, more than anything, makes De Divinatione Daemonum a good pick.