A great evil has returned to befoul our land. Devil Master, the darkly theatrical Philly punk-metal demons, will once again unleash a primordial plague of riffage upon our souls. None shall be safe from the headbanging wrath of these corpsepainted wraiths. Pray for deliverance, lest you give in and let the shred-stomp squalor sweep you away.
Later this summer. Devil Master will follow their bitchin' 2023 album Ecstasies Of Never Ending Night with a new one called Bloody Dreams. Sigh's Mirai Kawashima makes an appearance, as does Power Trip's Chris Ulsh, a former Devil Master member. Frontman Darkest Prince, otherwise known as current Integrity bassist Francis Kano, wrote the entire LP, and he claims "Greek and Andean folk music" as its key inspirations. Perhaps you can hear some of that in the excellently titled opener "You Worms' Vain Delusions," but I mostly just hear sick shit. Allow Darkest Prince to elaborate on the album's themes:
The etymology of the word "gothic" is from the Gothic tribes. They were called barbaric. Eventually, that word settled into cathedrals, which people thought looked horrific. Literature took its name from the architecture [of the day]. So our psychedelic blend of black metal and punk is defiant. Literally the marriage and definition of the whole history of the etymology of the word "gothic," of the barbarian punk side up to the spiritual, dark, supernatural, gothic evil.
I know that you'll want to know the names of the current Devil Master lineup. Beyond Darkest Prince, a press release lists bassist/vocalist Disembody Through Unparalleled Pleasure, guitarist Infernal Moonlight Apparition, and drummer Wrought By Fathomless Hands. Magnificent. Hayden Hall directed the video for "You Worms' Vain Delusions," which goes hard on '80s VHS horror aesthetics. Below, you'll find that video, the Bloody Dreams tracklist, and Devil Master's upcoming European tour dates.
TRACKLIST:
01 "You Worms’ Vain Delusions"
02 "Trembling At Dusk"
03 "Sex With Succubus"
04 "Death Anthem"
05 "Bloody Dreams"
06 "Farewell Waltz To Unfortune’s Palace"
TOUR DATES:
9/03: Aleksandrów Łódzki, Poland @ Summer Dying Loud Festival
9/04: Krakow, Poland @ Zaścianek *
9/05: Brno, Czech Republic @ Kabinet MUZ *
9/06: Budapest, Hungary @ Robot
9/07: Munich, Germany @ Hansa 39 *
9/08: Leipzig, Germany @ Moritzbasei *
9/09: Berlin, Germany @ Badehaus *
9/10: Copenhagen, Denmark @ Beta *
9/11: Hamburg, Germany @ Betty *
9/12: Cologne, Germany @ Garagen
9/13: Leeuwarden, Netherlands @ Neushoorn *
9/14: Utrecht, Netherlands @ DB’s *
9/15: Paris, France @ Backstage By The Mill *
* with Sigh
Bloody Dreams is out 9/4 on Relapse. Pre-order it here.
