ALBUM REVIEW: Devil Electric – ‘Godless’

Words by James Lavel

Devil Electric are a 4-piece doom, desert, sludgy amalgamation of darkness oozing with brooding tones, thick bass and a healthy serving of attitude. Oh, and they are from Melbourne. ‘Godless’ is the second full length release for Devil Electric since their self-titled album in 2017. ‘Godless’ has been a long time coming, with the band dropping singles since 2020 stoking the fire for eager fans. I’ve been a fan of these guys since seeing them blow my mind while opening for none other than Graveyard back in 2019. It’s great to see them back with a second helping after almost 4 years of waiting. They certainly have not disappointed with this killer album.

The first track I Am feels like a slow decent into Devil Electric’s lair, with big guitar tones laying it on thick. The bass tone from Tom Hulse will never not excite me in ways I won’t write about here and it’s great to hear the feel of the band holding true. Now that they have you in their grasp, the second track All My Friends Move Like The Night hangs you from a meat hook. This song was a single for the group in 2020 with a rocking clip you can check out below. I seriously love this track it’s full of great hooks, filthy riffs and killer vocals from Pierina tying it all together. This track gives me major Pentagram vibes with a hell of a fresh coat of paint and I love it.

The next track Mindset slow brings a great slow chug. I particularly enjoyed where this song went at the halfway mark dropping off the deep end before some great instrumental work brings it back up again. Your Guess Is As Good As Mine is the next track. Some great back ups in this one with Pierina and Tom filling out the vocal melody. Mark behind the kit knows exactly how to accentuate the feel of this band and showcases it very well in this one. The end is particularly killer when he locks in with guitarist Christos, bringing the track to a close.

Take The Edge Off is arguably the most palatable song on the album and that is in no way a bad thing because it’s a ripper. The riff in this song gets stuck in my head a lot it has some seriously catchy hooks. It may be the shortest song the album it packages all the goodness these guys have to offer. Next is Godless. Fuck yeah. This song rips. The lyrics are 100 % attitude and the whole piece is absolute fire.A real stand out track of me. Thick bass tones, relentless drumming and ripping guitar riffs make this without a doubt my favorite track on the album.

I Will Be Forgotten opens with an acoustic offering, but it doesn’t take long before rolling drums and molten guitar riffs dig their nails in. This one is a bit of a slow burn and holds a lot of feeling in the lyrics. Still a very cool track and fits very nicely slowing things down again before the final track of ‘Godless’, The Cave. The first thing that really stands out about this one is Pierina’s vocals. They are much cleaner in this song and really showcase how damn good they are. This song in general is a fantastic showcase for each member, it’s very well put together track with a lot of depth.

This album really is a vibe, the one I imagine you would get burning a house to the ground and watching until the embers fade. Great production, fantastic mixing giving plenty of breathing room for each member, just a very solid all-round album. It’s great to see these guys getting the attention they deserve with radio airtime and a healthy growing fanbase. It’s also great to see more female fronted bands getting the attention they deserve, because quite frankly, there aren’t enough in this scene and the ones that exist are often overshadowed and overlooked.

Do yourself a favor and give this album a spin. It’s on all your streaming platforms but for gods’ sake or should I say ‘godless’ sake… Buy an album and support these guys!

‘GODLESS’ is out today – Friday November 12, 2021 via Kozmik Artifactz devilelectric.bandcamp.com