Originally written by Tim Pigeon
If you’re like I am, then you prefer your death metal to be thrashy, rather than borrowing too much from the grindcore side of things. And if you’re like I am, then you’ll enjoy Divine Empire’s newest offering, Nostradamus.
As you can guess, it’s thrashy death metal, a bit in the vein of Malevolent Creation, which would make perfect sense seeing as how all three members used to play in MC at some point. This album also offers quite a few samples, which can get risky, but they’re all short and usually start off songs with such appropriate words of wisdom as: “This could get ugly now.”, “I’m not gonna hurt ya, I’m just gonna bash your brains in!”, and my favorite which leads off the album, “If it’s war they want, it’s war they’ll get!”.
John Paul Soars plays the guitar and hits the higher growls, sounding like Eric Rutan (Hate Eternal) when he hits the highs. Jason Blaschowicz is the bassist and primary vocalist, bringing a deep, stout, death growl to the table. Duane Timlim joined up on this album to hit the skins, and his performance is pretty standard for the death genre – fast and steady pounding, some unremarkable fills, but he gets the job done nicely.
The production is fair, and it does the drums more justice than anything else. All of the songs are at the same level of quality, about three minutes long, fast-moving, with a catchy driving riff. As such, none really rise above, while none really lag behind. If I were forced to pick favorites, “The Pain Remains” has a slightly more upbeat and rhythmic feel to it, along with the always-cool sound of gunshots. It’s also sort of an instrumental, discounting all of the samples. “Tribulation” sounds like early material from Swedish deathsters The Forsaken, which is always welcome in my book. “Season of Extinction” is home to the best driving riff on the album, and “They Rise” just reeks of impending violence.
Like I said, there aren’t any stinkers, but nothing that transcends the death metal greats either. One warning to those interested in Nostradamus – it’s too fucking short! I timed it at 30:05! Come on now… Granted, all the fat was trimmed from those 30 minutes, but I still feel like I just started listening by the time “Cuidate Del Traidor” comes to a close. I think Blood Red Throne does this sound better, but it’s certainly good enough to hold your interest.
