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Undivine: A deceitful calm

22/09/08 || The Duff

So here I am again taking a chance on a new band; normally such affairs terminate in a stance of complete indifference, and I’ll be pickled in a tanker of Peter North’s cum if Undivine are going to buck the trend. These guys hail from Sweden and practice a very tepid case of black metal that has a gross over-abundance of influences, yet is executed with skills and heart deserving of merit, as well as given the financial support suitable for launching such a band into the new(ish) millennium. I don’t have many qualms with the production, the musicianship or the styles of music being played (fans of recent Dimmu Borgir are likely to eat this up for the album’s slick gloss and accessible compositions), but the major downfall to “A Deceitful Calm” and something which sacrifices a lot of the album’s potential is that it is incredibly predictable/run-through-the motions.

As mentioned, a lot of influences are situated on this disc; I pick up on Bathory, Darkthrone, Enslaved, Amon Amarth, Dimmu Borgir, hints of black/death on top of it all and then some. For the first two, the production is far too clean, that’s for certain; they aren’t on par with the greatest metal band in the Universe, Enslaved, and so adding bits and pieces that hint towards having been inspired by such a legendary force is going to aggravate when the band’s strengths clearly lie elsewhere – one area where I figure the band shines is when they choose to slow down, but then at other times they go for too much atmosphere without having the talent to pull it off convincingly, such sections becoming deplorably drawn outas a consequence.

Some riffs do grab the listener (but then others remain entirely lifeless), and the drumming/vocals are of a decent standard. The lyrics are ridiculous, and taking from the Metal Archives website, deal with “hate/chaos/emotions and some anti-religion”. It’s difficult to take these guys all to seriously at the end of it all, because there are some big parts to “A Deceitful Calm” that blatantly reveal the band’s lack of experience – the ridiculously “epic” (check the intro for an example) parts that needlessly drag, some seriously weak, sappy parts (the “emotions” to contrast the “hate” and “chaos” perhaps?) that sound like Doom on a bad day, and check out the opening to “The Chaos Prayer” for an example of just how predictable this album can be; I was almost expecting the vocalist to come in with:

“BLASTBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETS!!!”

Overall, the band can still surprise on occasion, but often it’s because the album runs in a very linear fashion from the get-go. The saving graces include the production (too clean for me) and the musicianship (which I personally figure does not hold enough substance); the rest is all subjective, but for a true black metal fan, this will come across as a bland effort. To limit your album to eight tracks of music of this standard is quite the gamble too, as Undivine sure aren’t Emperor or Dissection; chuck those two bands in as well as influences, minus the musical graces and the ability to completely turn the scene up onto its head, and you have a good rundown of what Undivine have to offer.

5 could have been worse scenarios out of 10.

Information
Released: 2008
Label: Aural Offerings
Website: www.undivine.se
Band
Tommy Holmer: vocals
Kristofer Nilsson: bass
Sami Maki: guitars
Erik Kumpulainen: guitars
Jonas Lindstrom: drums

Tracklist
01. My silence
02. The chaos prayer
03. … and the word was war
04. In lust and disgust
05. Cold dead heart
06. A vision undivine
07. The cleansing
08. Catholic

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