NON EXIST DEUS DECEPTOR
Century Media - 2002
By Rodrigo Escandon
Following his exit with Arch Enemy, Johan Liiva decided to put a band together and continue his musical career. He hooked up with Johan Reinholdz, guitar wizard behind Andromeda, and Matte Modin, drummer or Defleshed/Dark Funeral, and needless to say that this new band called NonExist really interested me. It would be interesting to see how the combination of Liivas death metal background with Reinholdzs melodic and progressive playing would be. Deus Deceptor is that combination and I totally feel disappointed by this result.
The music is more of a straightforward death metal affair. Reinholdz really does not get that many chances to fully use his skills. For someone with his talent, what he displays in this album leaves a lot to be desired for. Songs like The Devil Incarnate, Faith, Phantoms and Idols & Fiends just dont do anything at all and they totally sound like songs that you have heard before.
When Johan does showcase what he can do, its where this album really shines. Take A Halo Askew with its brilliant melodic intro that immediately separates this song from the rest of the album and is my favorite of the entire album. The only problem is that this same riff was used in part of the instrumental "Entrance, which should have been scrapped. Eaten Alive is a thrashier number, has the best solo of the entire album and the part where Liiva starts singing I leave this place right at the end is pretty cool. Ebony Tower is another excellent song where Reinholdz once again shows his talents with his guitar. He can be both heavy and melodic at the same time and this song shows that while most of the other ones just show bland and uninspiring songwriting.
The other problem is a problem that was apparent in the Arch Enemy albums and that is the singing of Johan Liiva. He pretty much stays in the same range the entire album and in the end his singing just gets boring. One hopes that he tries something new or different but its all the same.
The band has some promise if they follow through on the ideas of the songs that I mentioned but otherwise NonExist is just another band failing to distinguish themselves from the crowd.
Century Media Website
NonExist Official Website
Century Media - 2002
By Rodrigo Escandon
Following his exit with Arch Enemy, Johan Liiva decided to put a band together and continue his musical career. He hooked up with Johan Reinholdz, guitar wizard behind Andromeda, and Matte Modin, drummer or Defleshed/Dark Funeral, and needless to say that this new band called NonExist really interested me. It would be interesting to see how the combination of Liivas death metal background with Reinholdzs melodic and progressive playing would be. Deus Deceptor is that combination and I totally feel disappointed by this result.
The music is more of a straightforward death metal affair. Reinholdz really does not get that many chances to fully use his skills. For someone with his talent, what he displays in this album leaves a lot to be desired for. Songs like The Devil Incarnate, Faith, Phantoms and Idols & Fiends just dont do anything at all and they totally sound like songs that you have heard before.
When Johan does showcase what he can do, its where this album really shines. Take A Halo Askew with its brilliant melodic intro that immediately separates this song from the rest of the album and is my favorite of the entire album. The only problem is that this same riff was used in part of the instrumental "Entrance, which should have been scrapped. Eaten Alive is a thrashier number, has the best solo of the entire album and the part where Liiva starts singing I leave this place right at the end is pretty cool. Ebony Tower is another excellent song where Reinholdz once again shows his talents with his guitar. He can be both heavy and melodic at the same time and this song shows that while most of the other ones just show bland and uninspiring songwriting.
The other problem is a problem that was apparent in the Arch Enemy albums and that is the singing of Johan Liiva. He pretty much stays in the same range the entire album and in the end his singing just gets boring. One hopes that he tries something new or different but its all the same.
The band has some promise if they follow through on the ideas of the songs that I mentioned but otherwise NonExist is just another band failing to distinguish themselves from the crowd.
Century Media Website
NonExist Official Website
