Normally when black metal is this stripped down and basic I tend to not like it. I have the classics in the genre exactly for that reason. Somehow though, Devotion has replicated that same old school feel while still creating music compelling enough for me to keep it in my collection. That says a lot.
The riffs on Devotion are the main focus. They are simple, repeat quite a bit, and there is only a handful per song. Sometimes they are augmented by keyboards to add to the atmosphere, but more often than not this is a riff dominated album.
The production is quite a bit better than your average black metal release of this type. While normally this would be a detractor for me, the clarity works well for the sound that Phlegein have going here. It's not crystal clear and sparkly like a lot of big name production would have. It's just clear enough to make out all the instruments (including the bass). This allows me to focus on different instruments as the riffs swirl around repeating themselves for minutes on end.
Devotion came out a few years ago, but it sounds like it came out around 1998... right after the second wave really got going. They have a great sound on this record, and while I haven't heard anything else from them I am tempted to check out their other full lengths at some point.
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