Bible of the Devil

The Diabolic Procession

Cruz Del Sur Music 2006

Take equal parts rock and In Flames styled Gothenburg melody and you will have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Chicago's Bible Of The Devil (BOTD).  I really though at first I wouldn't enjoy this album because it is not really typical of my style of preferred music but there is something so vibrant and energetic about BOTD.  They have an excellent ability to intertwine those two diverse styles and meld them into a burning anthemic call to metal arms.  Sepulchre is a perfect example of this blending of styles.  Legions of the Oriflamme has some of the best melodic guitar moments of the whole album where the main riff drives like a speeding thunderbird straight down the highway into oblivion and then has some Dark Tranquility-esque breaks that absolutely slay.  The Elusive Miracle starts with an acoustic and folky melody that sounds like it would be of Finnish origin and is possibly the albums most "rock" song especially the sing-along passages near the end of the song.  Heinous Corpus has a really Iron Maiden sort of feel to it with its bouncing main riff.  The whole album seems to deal with lyrical themes of religion which is not a the sort of seriousness I would expect from a band playing this style so on some level for me it is a little hard to swallow these lyrics seriously but I guess this is a prejudice I have in my head that must be dealt with.  Fans of Judas Priest styled twin guitar melodic assaults that just rock out should enjoy BOTD quite a bit.  Once I got passed my preconceptions I found this to be quite enjoyable album, especially when I am driving in my car.  Somehow this album is conducive to going fast!