“Who on earth are DET?” I asked myself the same question when investigating the upcoming release schedule for Dying Victims Productions, who for some reason STILL haven’t added me on their mailing list. Was it something I said? Behind Blayne from BangerTV, I’m probably your biggest cheerleader! *sigh* Anyways, considering I have two eyes (well, one and a half really) and a semi-functioning brain, I was able to surmise that DET is an acronym for Destructive Elite Terror, which happens to be the title of this here debut album. The band formed in 2022, dropping a pair of demos and a split alongside war metallers Krusifoitu ahead of this here eponymous debut.
Like most of the black metal that graces this here webzine, DET are as old school and first wave-oriented as it gets. There is no mistaking a single moment on here for anything released past the year 1985, and that’s most certainly the point. As far as contemporary names conveying the same musical idea, Stress Angel comes to mind, particularly last year’s Punished by Nemesis which gave off serious “Is it black metal or is it death metal vibes?” And while there are a handful of songs on DET that veer towards first gen death metal territory, by and large, this album is a blackened speed menace.
The cacophonous hornets nest riffage, double bass drum devastation, and lo-fi production of “Annihilation” sets the stage for DET in all its hellish glory. A one-trick pony of an album solely in this nature would’ve been acceptable by my standards, but alas, DET manage to keep things as fresh as possible for a release of this nature over the course of 13 songs. For those who dig their early black metal as full throttle and balls to the wall as possible, cuts like “Strike” and “Nosferatu” tap the vein with lethal precision. If you’re like me and dig your black metal with a riff-centric attack and speed metal twist, bangers like “Catacomb”, “Sinister”, and “Vengeance” channel the bestial naivety of albums like Bathory’s eponymous and Slayer’s Show No Mercy.
As mentioned earlier, there is the occasional foray to the death metal realm, which ironically serve as this album’s weakest moments. “Impaler”, “Bloodshed”, and “Cruel” all nail the aesthetic of Seven Churches era Possessed, but lack in cohesion and lasting impact. That, and the out of whack drumming pisses me off a tad, although again, it definitely fits the bill for such tuneage. Thankfully, the back half of DET is redeemed with the short and rotten black n’ roll of “Possessor”, full blackened speed attack of “Serpentine”, and last but certainly not least, the obligatory slab of Hellhammer worship that every band of this nature needs, “Destructive Elite Terror”.
True to their moniker, DET specialize in metal that’s destructive, elite, and terrifying. The songs are fast, raw, and straightforward, offering nothing in the way of melody, technicality, or any other highbrow bullshit. And that’s perfectly fine by me. Like so many others in their niche, DET aren’t reinventing the wheel: They’re keeping it spinning at a lethal pace. Lord knows someone has to in today’s age when “black metal” has been largely reduced to a glorified hipster circle jerk, at least here in the States. Finland, however, seems to be another story altogether.
7 out of 10
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Genre: Black/Speed Metal
For fans of: Stress Angel, Bathory, Poison