Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Countdown to MDF X: (31) The Devil's Blood

So here's the deal. The Devil's Blood does not want to be perceived as just a  typical rock group. Rather they might wish to be viewed as some sort of performance art meant to ignite your hellish awareness. They exist to perform "rituals" (not concerts) in honor of their dark lord. They call their songs incantations and their merchandise, weapons. They are demonic minstrels of Old Scratch.  OK, whatever. I don't believe in devils, spirits or gods, so their message is somewhat lost on me.

To give you a better idea of their philosophy, here is a paragraph I plucked directly from their Facebook page:  “The Devil’s Blood is a dedication to principles and principals more ancient than Time, a branch of a tree greater than the World, an exclamation of both the profound and the profane. The Devil’s Blood has always been one of the many vessels through which the Light of the Devil shines upon the darkness of the world and shall always be the possible entrance to a path walked alone. But only for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. This path starts not in understanding but in confusion."

The fact remains, however, that The Devil's Blood IS a musical group, and a pretty damn good one. Borrowing from the 60s psychedelia and the 70s guitar riffs, they have created, for a new generation, an interpretation of something like the grit of the Jefferson Airplane mixed with demonic overtones of Coven. The melodies are memorable and complex; the female lead vocalist is bold but not sweet.

The band was founded in The Netherlands by guitarist Selim Lemouchi and his sister, vocalist Farida Lemouchi.  Aside from them, other band member names were hard to confirm. I have read that this is because the band members are of no importance, only the art is important. The Devil's Blood performs at the 2012 Maryland Deathfest on Saturday afternoon. Their sound is a mighty departure from most of what you will hear over those four days.

TDB is currently on tour with Behemoth, Watain, and In Solitude. Here are some songs from their earlier and most recent recordings.



No comments:

Post a Comment