DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY

www.destroydestroydestroy.com

Devour The Power

Metal Blade (2006)

 www.metalblade.com

reviewed by Sully Payton
 

Murfreesboro, TN Viking wannabes Destroy Destroy Destroy sound like the lovechild born from a drunken one night stand between Cradle of Filth and Children of Bodom. Listening to their debut full-length Devour The Power (Metal Blade), you'll begin to wonder whether these wild-eyed southern boys were secretly replaced in the studio by armor-clad and sword-wielding guys named Odin, Sven and maybe even Vlad.

So how does the COF/COB union come together on Devour The Power? Vocalist Brian Kemp does a dead on Dani Filth, creepy wails and all, reminiscent of COF's less than commercial darker days. Kemp gives his vocals a Filth-y workout on tracks like "Hang The Vermin", "Battle Cry" and "Seduced by the Lacrian Temptress". While lacking the upper vocal range to be a complete clone of Mr. Filth himself, Kemp still brings plenty of evil screeching to the table. Musically, much of the record sounds like Children of Bodom's bastard offspring. The keyboard flourish and duelling guitar riffing that opens "Ripped Apart By the Juggernaut of Fornication" sounds like it was penned by Alexi Laiho himself. The machine gun guitars and piggy squeals that carry "The Beast That Cannot Be Fed" would make even the most hardened member of the Hate Crew proud.

But therein lies the rub with this record. This is a solid first full-length from a band that clearly has chops and a love for all music Scandinavian. However, these boys need to hone the influences that run rampant on this record into their own sound. The blueprint for success is certainly there, but can they create their own sound of evil? Time will tell.