Vehemency
Year 1994. Les Légions Noires. Artwork by Chris Moyen. You basically know the deal. ”Devoted to Satan” is the first demo by Torgeist, a 13-minute short piece rereleased a couple of times - latest version dates to 2008. The infamous Black Legions are known for muddy and almost totally indistinct black metal and ambient back in the early 90s. Torgeist, however, has relatively clean production. You can hear the guitar, the drums, the vocals and even the bass guitar, and all in all ”Devoted to Satan” is an enjoyable, yet very short, piece of black metal history.
Although being a 2008 rerelease on CD, ”Devoted to Satan” still captures the utterly evil, tape-hissing spirit of the Black Legions. Between a creepy intro and an outro lies four tracks of simple yet effective black metal with no compromises. ”Devoted to Satan” is not, however, a total blast beat manifest: it includes many mid-tempo sections, the title track being a good example, also being the CD’s highlight. The playing is somewhat sloppy but it is only a welcome feature as it makes the music sound alive and not computer-made, sterile, nor soulless.
”Devoted to Satan” is dusty and dirty just the way it is supposed to be. It doesn’t offer anything groundbreaking but is still a nice addition to anyone’s catalogue who’s interested in the Black Legions. Torgeist surely belongs to the more interesting acts of this whole French cult.