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Stunning come back using a Marvel-inspired cover by Mr Lauski (Children of Bodom, Semigod) for a great band born only 4 years ago, yet able to achieve top-notch goals through their songwriting.

After an intro in Finnish, you understand at once that the band has become a bit more aggressive, but the songs are still as cool as the previous ones, thanks to excellent choruses like the ones in "Weave a Web of Vanity" and "Silence of Decades", indelebly marked by Divine Decay's trademark.

Now the band can count on 3 guitar players, owing to the entrance of ex-Gandalf's lead guitarist/backing vocalist Timo "Stig666Evil" Nyberg, which creates a wall of sound taking no prisoners, as displayed by the rifferama and solo in "Without a Soul" for example.

The sound of the kick drums is alà "...and Justice for All", the guitars remind me of a modernized version of the "Kill'em All" ones, and finally all the sounds are clearer and more incisive now; this allows to the mid-tempos of songs like "Scars", the title track and "Dead in me" to stand out as they actually deserve. So, let's thank Suburban Tribe's Janne Joutsenniemi for the recording at the MD Studios (HIM, Apocalyptica) and Crazy Crane Studios in Helsinki, and Mikko Karmila for the mixing (Nightwish, Therion, Children of Bodom...).

Quite nice the axe duels in "The Discomfort of Artificial Euphoria", while "Killing Innocence" joins thrash and rock structures; some hints of modernity are also in "Filth" and "Black-hearted Angel", because of a couple of new thrash riffs on the whole in an ocean of triumphant old-fashioned ones; these two tracks contain the most various guitar and drum parts of the CD ever, so they're even more memorable. In the end the closure is entrusted to a hidden composition, a little Testament influenced.

Believe me, Divine:Decay are the prosecution of Metallica N 1 (that's how I like to define Metallica until the Black album excluded), though I feel the term rather reductive and unfair towards the band coming from the probably best country in the world, since they've got more personal despite "Songs of the Damned", which I still adore and consider an undervalued record; and if you don't have it yet, you should go look for that today itself; moreover, Alec's voice is again different from Hetfield's, being more melancholic, decadent, nevertheless aggressive at the same time (even though it seems easy to sing so, know it's not, and he also plays the guitar!).

Thrash Bay Area is enjoying a second youth on the wings of acts like this., despite hoodoos saying it was practically dead... It's really true that the mother of the silly is always pregnant!

MARKUS GANZHERRLICH - 2/09/03

	Divine Decay 'Maximixe the Misery' (Osmose prod.) MARK: 93/100



	Stunning come back using a Marvel-inspired cover by Mr Lauski (Children of Bodom, Semigod) for a great band born only 4 years ago, yet able to achieve top-notch goals through their songwriting. After an intro in Finnish, you understand at once that the band has become a bit more aggressive, but the songs are still as cool as the previous ones, thanks to excellent choruses like the ones in "Weave a Web of Vanity" and "Silence of Decades", indelebly marked by Divine Decay's trademark. Now the band can count on 3 guitar players, owing to the entrance of ex-Gandalf's lead guitarist/backing vocalist Timo "Stig666Evil" Nyberg, which creates a wall of sound taking no prisoners, as displayed by the rifferama and solo in "Without a Soul" for example. The sound of the kick drums is alà "...and Justice for All", the guitars remind me of a modernized version of the "Kill'em All" ones, and finally all the sounds are clearer and more incisive now; this allows to the mid-tempos of songs like "Scars", the title track and "Dead in me" to stand out as they actually deserve. So, let's thank Suburban Tribe's Janne Joutsenniemi for the recording at the MD Studios (HIM, Apocalyptica) and Crazy Crane Studios in Helsinki, and Mikko Karmila for the mixing (Nightwish, Therion, Children of Bodom...). Quite nice the axe duels in "The Discomfort of Artificial Euphoria", while "Killing Innocence" joins thrash and rock structures; some hints of modernity are also in "Filth" and "Black-hearted Angel", because of a couple of new thrash riffs on the whole in an ocean of triumphant old-fashioned ones; these two tracks contain the most various guitar and drum parts of the CD ever, so they're even more memorable. In the end the closure is entrusted to a hidden composition, a little Testament influenced. Believe me, Divine:Decay are the prosecution of Metallica N 1 (that's how I like to define Metallica until the Black album excluded), though I feel the term rather reductive and unfair towards the band coming from the probably best country in the world, since they've got more personal despite "Songs of the Damned", which I still adore and consider an undervalued record; and if you don't have it yet, you should go look for that today itself; moreover, Alec's voice is again different from Hetfield's, being more melancholic, decadent, nevertheless aggressive at the same time (even though it seems easy to sing so, know it's not, and he also plays the guitar!). Thrash Bay Area is enjoying a second youth on the wings of acts like this., despite hoodoos saying it was practically dead... It's really true that the mother of the silly is always pregnant! MARKUS GANZHERRLICH - 2/09/03