NonExist
Deus Deceptor
8.3
I've been looking forward to laying down my thoughts on this debut album from Sweden's NonExist since the first time it graced my ears. With the headphones on, the first track off Deus Deceptor entitled Entrance once again brings me through the door leading to this full on metal trek-o-death. Thinking back to my initial taste of this melodic death assault I remember that it took no time at all before I knew this album was gonna kick some serious skull. With my expectations being pretty high for this release due to the powerful performances by Johan Liiva on the 3 albums he recorded with Arch Enemy, I was immediately impressed. Johan has never sounded better, and the proof lies here on Deus Deceptor. First and foremost I'm gonna spare you the bullshit history of the "Liiva/AE saga" simply because many media sources have already covered that issue. Not only that but it has nothing to do with what's at bay here, and I'd be wasting your time and mine by going over that due to the story's now stagnant nature. Getting back to the above mentioned opening track, there lies a riff in the midst of the opener that pops up again in track #6 going by the name of A Halo Askew. There are other instances where riffs are repeated throughout the various tracks, and I want to assure you that I'm not saying the riffs from song to song sound alike. I'm saying that some of the riffs are identical. As you're reading this you might be thinking that this might be a lack of originality, but I would disagree and say that there's more to it than that. Many bands over the years have put out "concept" albums with the lyrical content spelling everything out for you, but on this album it's the music that tells the story. And to me the few repetitions that are heard here spell out a recurring musical theme. Whether it is a concept based solely on the music or not, I've fully enjoyed the trip up to this point. The guitar and bass parts are performed by Andromeda guitarist Johan Reinholdz and let me tell you the riffs he's come up with are an excellent display of a pure musician's intellect. I've listened to this album at least 15 times now and each time the riffs pull me in with their undeniable melodic ferociousness. There's speed mixed with textured groove, and there's the perfect amount of melody not to mention some damn impressive solo work. The bass lines Reinholdz provides are not all that different from the guitar riffs, but the riffs are so cool it doesn't matter. Matte Modin sits behind the kit and drives this album home with a performance that doesn't take anything away from the overall effect, and he is doing just enough back there to mesh in perfectly with the music at hand. Individually all three musicians are spectacular and when melted together they make an impressive group and a superb album. As I stated previously, my expectations were off the scale for this one and I was nowhere near disappointed at the results. This is a debut album that ranks up there with some of the best bands out of Sweden and anywhere else on the planet for that matter. I'm looking forward to hearing more music from NonExist, and I hope they make their way across the pond to crush us here in the US with their metal attack.
6.3
What to do you do after the band you help create and design fires your ass and then hires the throat from hell that not only launches the band to a higher realm of exposure but ends up being one fine capable piece of ass. A couple of choices come to mind. One, you lie at home wallowing in self-pity cursing their existence as well as your own while withering away to nonexistence. Two, you say, "fuck you it's only music" and proceed to establish another band that incorporates as much substance and verve as your predecessor and carry on to mock the naysayer with your own version of Millennium Metal Crush. Obviously Johan Liiva, ex-Arch Enemy power-throat extraordinaire choose the latter.
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