From start to finish, YOTH IRIA’s Gone With The Devil is a majestic feat of Hellenic Black Metal mastery and if, like us, you’re coming off a recent bout of Metallic euphoria having witnessed Behemoth’s Godless IV tour featuring Deicide, Rotting Christ and Immolation then the 3rd LP from the Greek collective is a must listen.
Throughout the 10 tracks here, there’s a solemn denseness with each composition filled with hidden intricacies revealed upon each new listen. The mighty opener “Dare To Rebel” is a prime example of that with a lush soundscape at the forefront built from Jim Mutilator (Bass), Nikolas Perlepe (Guitar), Naberius (Guitar) and Bill “Vongaar” Stavrianidis’ (Drums) precision playing with vocalist HE exhibiting a range that brings to mind Death Metal greats as well as contemporaries like Dimmu Borgir or ICS Vortex.
“Woven Spells Of A Demon” unfurls out of that one and is much more in line with their brethren in Rotting Christ with the stomp that Stavriandis belts out and the squeals echoing out of Perlepe and Mutilator’s axes. Speaking of spells, the one cast the moment wall of vocals opens up “The Blind Eye Of Antichrist” with the way it instantly mesmerizes should be studied! “I Totem” primally pummels out of that with a sinister snarl put forth by HE followed by the grand entrance of “3AM” which is a steady shredder through and through.
“Give ‘Em My Beautiful Hell” is haunting and ethereal yet unrelentingly Heavy with “Once In A Blue Moon” easily mistaken as standard Black Metal fare if it wasn’t for the eloquent and elaborate YOTH IRIA touches. “Blessed Be He Who Enters” is a driving number that’s devilish and divine, fluctuating between steady bouts of shreds and refined moments of relaxed rage, while “The End Of Known Civilization” is a dynamic dirge with Stavrianidis and Mutialtor’s rhythm section relentlessly galloping as Naberius and Perlepe rain down an onslaught of riffs as “Harut, Government, Fallen” concludes this third YOTH IRIA outing in a blaze of gargantuan Black Metal glory.
Gone With The Devil ascends through Metal Blade Records on May 8th and you can find your version by heading here. For more from YOTH IRIA, hit the interwebs on their trail of socials located here, here and here.