Artist: Devil Moon
Country: Finland
Label: Signal Rex / Old Forest Production
Formats: Cassette EP / CD EP
Year: 2022
A bondage ritual on the front cover, a pentagram in the band logo and a member of Morgal in the line-up: Devil Moon ticks a lot of the right boxes without having heard a note. And after an effect-laden growling intro with sinister keys, ‘Wig-Splitter’ fulfils on that promise with an epic mid paced Heavy Metal riff including catchy melody and delightful reverb-rich Black Metal vocals. Cap it off with a simple but effective solo and a nonchalanant ending and onwards we go to ‘S.D.Y.G.’. A charming intro sample leads to something more in the vein of traditional Doom and Heavy Metal meets Thin Lizzy topped off with Black Metal vocals. Catchiness aplenty, and we haven’t even reached the eponymous highlight of the second release of this Finnish band. The oohs and ughs of ‘Devil Moon’ introduce us to a sleazy Heavy Metal track with a gloriously melodious melody while the vocals howl ‘Oh Devil… Oh Devil Moon Rise’. A nice retro solo is all the track asks, and we get exactly what we want. What we also want, is more, which we get in the bonus track ‘Ghost of Dark Streets’ from the previously released split with Alcöhölik Aggressor. An equally sincere track, where the reverb on the vocals was a little bit more subdued, but a very nice encore, nonetheless.
Released on Cassette (Signal Rex) and CD (Old Forest Production) with a vinyl version following in the fall 2023 (Sturmglanz), ‘Devil Moon’ is a sincere, sleazy rocking and catchy Black Metal / Heavy Metal blend in ancient devil-worshipping spirit. Short, sweet, sordid and greasy, a fantastic EP for all its glorious 11 minutes. Recommended to everyone with a passion for old music with a filthy vibe, worshippers of the likes of Deathhammer and Abigail (JPN), or any perv that clicked on the article just for the nudity on the cover.
