On their fourth album SemiDevilish, Poland's Darzamat once again throw at the listener their brand of epic black metal meets ethereal gothic rock, an interesting combination that just seems to work time and time again. The growling vocals of Flauros, quite similar to Dimmu Borgir's Shagrath, play the perfect foil to Nera's angelic flights. The two do battle on many of the songs here, some of the most successful being the symphonic black metal pieces "In Red Iris" and "Era Aggression", the latter also containing plenty of blast beats, crunchy guitar work, and orchestral synths. In fact, keyboard fans will really appreciate the few short instrumental bits and intros on the album, which are mostly orchestral and symphonic film score styled sections used as segues into the heavier passages. They work quite well to offset the more crushing main parts, and fans of the band should already be used to this tactic, as they use it quite often. The band is rounded out by Daamr on guitars and bass, Chris on guitars, Spectre on keyboards, and Golem on drums.
Other winners here include the bombastic "Time of Obscure Emotions", the death metal sounds of "Fistful of Ashes" (where Nera even gets into the mix with some "devilish" vocals), the gothic "Absence of Light", and the progressive black metal of "Dusk", featuring some wild arrangements and the spitting vocals of Flauros. Overall, SemiDevilish is a somewhat schizophrenic release, but that seems to be the intention of the band. Are they black metal, death metal, progressive, or gothic? How about all rolled into one? That's my guess, and will probably be yours after checking out this dense and busy, yet ultimately rewarding album.
Track Listing
1. Intro
2. In Red Iris
3. Era Aggression
4. Time of Obscure Emotions
5. Fistful of Ashes
6. Demise
7. Absence of Light
8. The Darkest One
9. Dusk
10. From Beyond
11. In Its Cobweb
12. Video Clip-Era Aggression (Live From Brutal Assault Festival)
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