Coming straight from what is probably the most metal country in the southern hemisphere, Brazilian black metal band Insane Devotion’s debut album is an ambitious melodic slab of evil. With the songs clocking in at lengths that outlast the listener’s interest they seek to hold, the so-so production and general lack of focus keep this album from being as truly gripping as it sets out to be.

Overall, Insane Devotion sound like what would happen if you took the riffs and vocals of Dissection, and mixed them with the very prominent and melodious style of keyboarding found in Dimmu Borgir. For most black metal fans, this sounds like a solid, albeit familiar, combination. The riffs usually find themselves carrying an insidious melody, using a violently frantic tremolo to do so. One of the better examples of this style of riffing can be found in the opener of Fall Of The Light Kingdom. This song boasts not only a killer opening riff, but an interesting change of pace to the almost waltz-like breakdowns in between blastbeats.

Programmed blastbeats to be exact. Keyboardist Fernando Nahtaivel also serves as the programmer of percussion on Slaves Will Serve, doing a damn fine job with the limitations most bands face when using a drum machine. Sure, they sound triggered to hell, but enough tempo changes and fills are added in to make it sound like more than just a drum machine set to constantly blast at 230 bpm. As for using his main instrument, Nahtaivel is not shy in trying to douse the songs with synthesized melody. All too often though, the various keyboard melodies clash with the rest of the music, rather than help to effectively accompany it. Sometimes it works, as in the chorus of Fallen Messenger, but for the most part, it ends up creating too much conflict within the rest of the songs, seeming at times as if the band is battling with the keyboards, rather than working with them. Lava of Blood starts out with a great riff, accompanied by a fitting keyboard melody, but the rest of the song is interrupted by an awkward sounding interlude at 2:26, an awkward dissonance in the section thereafter, and a case of simply trying to do too much with one instrument at the songs conclusion.

As for the other elements of the band, nothing stands out too much. Vocally, the singer sounds like a slightly fatigued version of the now deceased Dissection frontman, Jon Nödtveidt. The riffs are nothing to write to the 9th circle about, usually suffering from the “this sounds really familiar” problem that many black metal guitarists have a difficult time overcoming. Between the constantly changing keyboard tones and various melodic explorations within each song, and the programmed drums, there is little atmosphere to be found that most die-hard black metal fans so hungrily seek. If Insane Devotion could could take away some of the keyboardist’s ambition and share it with the rest of the band, they might have something really interesting here. Assuming the band can find a competent drummer, they have the musical skill to make something much stronger than this effort.

However, one thing that does set this band apart is that this entire album is available to be downloaded in its entirety, FREE OF CHARGE, via the band’s official website. Simply click on the link provided right above this review to give it a listen.