Yoth Iria is very aware that by self-identifying as a Black Metal band from Greece, the comparisons to Rotting Christ are bound to happen. Gone With the Devil (Metal Blade Records) focuses on sounding bigger and more melodic than their countrymen to establish their own identity. This results in a much more Pagan Metal-infused sound. There are no blast beats nor the usual sonic trapping of black metal to be found aside from the rasp of the vocals. Sung vocals do find their way on this album, and they fly in out of nowhere to create a more Dimmu Borgir-like dynamic. Unlike Dimmu they are not overtly symphonic, but weave in layers of folk-inspired melodies that can be heard on “Woven Spells of a Demon.”

The female vocals leading into “The Blind Eye of the Antichrist” cast a more flowery shade of atmosphere over things when they need to be more ominous. To their credit, they are far from being purists. Allowing the band to go with a huge epic production quality when it came to the mix of the album, which aids in giving them a larger-than-life persona. “I Totem” looms with more of a slow-building menace; they tone down the folkish need to frolic and create something darker than the previous song.

While there is little blasting, their preferred method of punishing your ears seems to lie in the hammering torrent of double bass, which often works with the grandiose sound, more aggression is needed. The only common ground they share with Rotting Christ is in how they arrange songs, as they work off a primary throb that is allowed to build up and ebb down in intensity rather than having bridges with time changes. “3 AM” carries more groove with melodic vocals emerging on the chorus, making it one of the album’s more accessible songs. On a song like “Give’em My Beautiful Hell,” the vocals are the only thing that looks back in a more black metal direction, as the rest of the instrumentation is locked into a gallop toward a more traditional metal path.

There is a more orchestrated elegance to “Once in a Blue Moon” that brings nineties Swedish death metal to mind. They break from their pattern by pounding out the accents of the song’s second act. Their closest step in the direction of your typical black metal is on “Blessed Be He Who Enters.” The verse carries more groove, giving it more in common with Crematory, than Mayhem. They hit more of a middle-of-the-road black metal feel for “End of the Known Civilization.” The album ends lawith a pulsing Behemoth feel, thanks to the layers of vocals.

This might not be the most black metal album you have heard, but this project cares about the songs, which puts them ahead of the more cvlt bands who rely heavily on blast beats and skimp on dynamics. If you like a more melodic black metal leaning metal and not cvlt shit, give this a try.

Buy the album here:
http://www.metalblade.com/yothiria

8 / 10 

WIL CIFER
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