DEIVOS — Casus Belli (review)

DEIVOS — Casus Belli album cover Album · 2019 · Technical Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Casus Belli" is the sixth full-length studio album by Polish death metal act Deivos. The album was released through Selfmadegod Records in November 2019. It´s the successor to "Endemic Divine" from 2017 and there´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as guitarist Jakub "Diego" Tokaj has been replaced by Mścisław (real name Piotr Bajus). The latter was previously a member of Deivos from 2004-2016, and therefore makes a return here.

Stylistically "Casus Belli" is a natural successor to both "Theodicy" (2015) and "Endemic Divine" (2017), as it features a similar style and also a relatively similar sounding production. It could be argued that Deivos are repeating themselves, but I´d like to describe it as the band have locked into a stylistic groove which works really well for them. Why fix it, if it ain´t broken...?

"Casus Belli" features 8 tracks of crushingly brutal and technically well played death metal. While it´s certainly brutal music, Deivos are more sophisticated and adventurous in their songwriting approach than many other contemporary artists playing brutal technical death metal. The riffs are quite intricate (as are the many well played solos) and the drumming by Krzysztof Saran is nothing short of amazing (tempo changes, breaks, and loads of creative drumming ideas). The way he incorporates cowbell in the most natural way to the core death metal sound of Deivos is a touch of brilliance. The vocals are relatively intelligible growling (often layered), and while lead vocalist Angelfuck (yup... that´s actually his artist name) gets the job done, his contributions are slightly one-dimensional, and certainly the least remarkable part of "Casus Belli".

The album features a sharp, detailed, and powerful sounding production, which perfectly suits the material. So upon conclusion "Casus Belli" is another high quality death metal release from Deivos. Hopefully one day they will be counted among the greatest Polish death metal acts (along with artists like Behemoth, Vader, and Hate), because the quality of their releases warrants an inclusion to that exclusive club. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Everything Hurts And I'm Dying Atmospheric Sludge Metal
NEGATIVE BLISS
Buy this album from MMA partners
L'impôt du sang Melodic Black Metal
CONIFÈRE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Pleroma Progressive Metal
ORGONE
Buy this album from MMA partners
n​ê​bam​Ω​ejn Atmospheric Black Metal
TRHÄ
Buy this album from MMA partners
∫um'ad​∂​ejja cavvaj Atmospheric Black Metal
TRHÄ
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Origin Of Infinity - Chronosphere (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)
ORIGIN OF INFINITY
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Kingdom of Heaven - “Pleasures of Pain”
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Bosh66· 1 day ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed