Band:	Devenial Verdict
Album:	Blessing Of Despair
Style:	Progressive death metal
Release date:	October 04, 2024
A review by:	AndyMetalFreak

01. I Have Become The Sun
02. Garden Of Eyes
03. Moon-Starved
04. Blessing Of Despair
05. Shunned Wander
06. The Quietus
07. Solus
08. Counting Silence
09. Cold Lantern
10. A Curse Made Flesh

It's true, the Devenial Verdict really is a Blessing Of Despair.

Despite forming way back in 2006, Finnish death metal band Devenial Verdict haven't been able to build a reputation as yet, but in 2022 they literally set the ground rolling and shaking with their mightily heavy full-length debut Ash Blind. Now, they're back to build on the solid foundations set by that impressive release with Blessing Of Despair. What you can expect from this latest album is an extraordinary blend of high-end dissonance, striking melodies, and outbursts of brutality exploding from complex progressive structures, in one of the most terrifying and disturbing atmospheric soundscapes you'll hear in death metal in 2024.

Blessing Of Despair is not an easy listen by any means; if I'm honest, it's a rather unsettling one, its brutal suffocating atmosphere threatening to overwhelm. The quartet build on their impressive debut by delving even deeper into the extremities of dissonant and progressive death, introducing various influences and sounds from the likes of Mithras and Ulcerate. This approach is evident in "I Have Become The Sun", one of the heaviest openers you could possibly be introduced to. This song is like being directly hit by a tornado without warning, from drums that pound with unprecedented force alongside powerful rumbling bass, to guitarwork that goes from brutal Nile-like technical riffing to unstoppable Earth-shattering chugs, while sharp wailing dissonant Ulcerate-esque leads are introduced alongside deep monstrous death grows and shouts of utter desperation. These elements are all sustained into the following song, "Garden Of Eyes", with even more devastating force.

The album gets off to an impressive start, but I believe it truly reaches its highest point during the intense, hellishly atmospheric "Moon-Starved", followed by the powerful and emotionally charged title track. After these fantastic back-to-back songs, the album takes a momentary breather with a short eerie, atmospheric interlude, "Shunned Wander", before the hellish soundscape is re-introduced. As the album progresses into its second half, it ventures further beyond the progressive border, with complex, sometimes even baffling song structures, slow atmospheric sections breaking up the powerful instrumentation, and twisted dissonant guitar leads and powerful chugging riffs continue to weave their way in and out of the unrelenting rhythm section, as the monstrous growls and devastating shouts continue to cry out from the hellish depths with every sense of emotional suffering.

As I pointed out at the beginning,  Blessing Of Despair is no easy listen, but it sure as hell can be a rewarding one. The production substantially helps the listening experience in becoming more bearable; it's mixed to an extremely high standard, the masterful layering creating an intense and suffocating soundscape, one of insufferable horror, while the sharp guitar tones cut through the mix like a knife through butter and the bass remains ever-present, with every other element from drumming to vocals having an equal part to play in helping create the album's unique cosmic, sometimes apocalyptic atmosphere. If you thought Ash Blind was a debut of heavy proportions, then Devenial Verdict blows that out of the water, and let me tell you something else, Devenial Verdict are well on the path to becoming one the heaviest and most extreme bands around in metal right now.