Evoking Eternity EP

Certainly, the subterranean paths that lead to the darkest genres of music can be as varied as the artists that venture upon them. The Devil & The Universe (whose name takes its inspiration from the Crowley's tarot cards) lets magic and ritual schemes to express themselves without self-imposed interferences. Two compatriots in the world of visceral sound, Ashley Dayour (Whispers in the Shadow) and David Pfister (Neigungsgruppe, Sex, Gewalt und gute Laune), are the minds behind this project, where the trascendental and the isolationist work in conjunction to provide a perplexing, sinister ambient. Let's reveal the secrets kept in this debut EP (available only as limited tape or digital), which is rightly entitled "Evoking Eternity".

The album opener, "Parvati's Lament" (taken from the forthcoming vinyl album "Imprint Daath"), provides a cinematic atmosphere driven by swirling oriental sounds. Eastern chords, synths and percussion are woven together in an evocative tapestry. The multiple forms of the Hindu goddess seem to be revealed through the ritual environment, taking us into a different realm entirely. Following "Belief Manipulation" radically changes the soundscape. This track is like an industrial nightmare hold up by metallic washes of drums and perturbing processed beats. Along with the threatened synth lines and the sidereal tones, those noises draw a menacing horror sci-film scenery. Tension increases progressively till the song fades out into a dystopian simulation. Then, a brooding melody (eroded, as played in a gramophone) introduces "It Is Our Will". Seconds later, the track bursts into a danceable electro pace. As the tune moves forward, the dark elements take over the accesible ones, underneath the catchy keyboard passages. Finally, the song is dissolved and the initial vintage tune makes its appearence again, like an end bracket for a lapse. Some gloomy piano notes are the backbone in "Continuum", almost like the sole escape from the unsettling atmosphere. The continuous guitar howling and the worrying synth lines help to create a suffocating ambient from the distance. Processed crackles and tambourine rattling even make the song more frightening. The first sounds from "The Great God Pan" ties in with the foreboding end of the previous track. Distorted screams and noisy lines provide a sinister backdrop from afar. Then, the pagan ritual begins supported by martial drums, solemn chords and a female invocation. The atmosphere becomes ominous through the metallic buzzes and the guitar shrieks coming and going. The title track "Evoking Eternity" is thrown to another sphere by low frequency rumbles and machined siren-like chants. For more than ten minutes, your abduction will be a fact. Psychonautic synthesized enveloping, dissonant harmonies, discordant overtones and a wide range of toxic noises, shape this moody soundtrack experience. Two remixes from "It Is Our Will" and "Parvati's Lament" close the EP. The first has been reassembled by In Death It Ends, resulting in an strongly percussive version but also sounding glacial, hermetic and intriguing, in line with the album-sustaining collective and the british machine's hallmark. The reinterpretation of "Parvati's Lament" has been witch-house poisoned by Mater Suspiria Vision. The original sounds has been processed in reverse, making them almost unrecognizable and terryfing. Also some sordid noises, laments and effects are added, surrounding the track with a strange, dense aura.

In short, the "Evoking Eternity" EP is an intense odysee through the collective mind fears, driven by visceral sounds and dreadful noises that are flowly intermingled. Indeed an experience you should have.

Review by Billyphobia