### Divine Empire: Nostradamus

#### 11/08/10 || InquisitorGeneralis

It pains me to admit this but when it comes to metal often times I ride the coattails of fellow staffer and real-life best friend Daemonomania . He may be a pussy-whipped recluse, who dwells in the greatest city in the world but refuses to experience any of it beyond his morning subway commute, but I love him (physically) and the bloke has solid taste in metal. First and foremost, he introduced me to Grave and that led to me taking the giant leap from heavy metal and classic rock to the realm of extremity that I now happily dwell in. Besides opening my lifestyle horizons and introducing me to a little website called Global Fucking Domination Daemo has introduced me to bands like Konkhra, Gorod, Dew-Scented, Paganizer, Lamb of God, Meshuggah, and The Haunted. While I have reached around and made him a big fan of Death, Arsis, Misery Index, and Judas Priest when it comes to new stuff the goods generally flow from his pad in NYC to my crib in Baltimore. Most recently, the big D-Cup has got me into Divine Empire and slowly but surely I am becoming a fan of the band’s solid, brutal Floridian approach to death metal.

“Nostradamus” does not bring anything new to the death metal game but on it Divine Empire kicks out blasty, groovy, thrashy death metal in short bursts that for the most part are successful. No wheels are being reinvented here, but if you like straight-up beat down bands like Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Monstrosity, and Immolation you will enjoy “Nostradamus”. The songs on here are generally shorter than those found on “Divine Empire”, as is the entire record. The production is solid and the three-man band is tight. I wish Timlin would have had this drum sound on Dying Fetus’ “War of Attrition”, especially the kicks. While it sounds like personally he is a douche, Timlin can certainly play some drums and he puts down heavy blasts and precision kicks all over “Nostradamus”. Jason Blachowicz’s vocals are pretty standard low growls but fit the music well. Pope John Paul the Soars does a solid but not mind-blowing job on the geetaurs. The band is certainly tight, but a second guitarist I think would add a little more variety and style to Divine Empire’s punishing sound.

Ok, so good songs? “Ravaged” is a winner with a solid breakdown. “The basher” has an awesome intro about…you guessed it bashing someone’s head in and the song after it ain’t bad either. “Cuidad del traitor” is a vicious diss at a former band member…which is always cool. “They rise” and “The pain remains” round out the winning bunch on “Nostradamus”. No songs on here suck but blasty repetitiveness does set in at several points. I told you before; this is pretty standard, high-speed Florida style death metal so do not expect anything obscenely creative or ground breaking.

Solid production, mostly good tunes, undeniable heaviness and aggression make this worth your time if shit like Vomitory, Malevolent Creation, Monstrosity, Aeon, and Dying Fetus gives you sheet-shitting wet dreams. Thanks Daemo for introducing me to yet another solid band. You are a first-class cocksmoker of epic proportions, but a top notch metal wing-man.

- Information
- Released: 2003
- Label: Olympic
- Website: Divine Empire MySpace
- Band
- Jason Blachowicz: bass, vocals
- John Paul Soars: guitars, vocals
- Duane Timlin: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Sacrifice In Vain
- 02. Ravaged
- 03. Tribulation
- 04. They Rise
- 05. Manifestation
- 06. Season Of Extinction
- 07. The Pain Remains
- 08. Basher
- 09. Aggravated Battery
- 10. Cuidate Del Traidor