Review by Krys on May 29, 2002.

After his departure from Arch Enemy, Johan Liiva didn’t waste any time and with help of guitarist Johan Reinholdz (Andromeda) and drummer Matte Modin (Dark Funeral/Defleshed) he formed a new project called NonExist; a band that is based on its members’ backgrounds to try to fuse elements of aggression and progressive metal into their debut “Deus Deceptor”.

One thing that you can’t deny is the musicianship of the NonExist trio. If you are a fan of Reinholdz’s work on “Extension of the Wish” or guitar driven records with wrist breaking riffs and solos, “Deus Deceptor” is yours to pick up without reading anything else I have to say about this album. Matte Modin makes sure that his drumming complements every riff and diversifies the songs from slow groovy beats to furious blasts while John Liiva does everything in his power to not resemble his performance in Arch Enemy and goes for much rawer style, a flanged growl ala Jeff Walker (Carcass). For the first time listener, that might be perfectly fine but after following his development in Arch Enemy it comes as a big surprise, not to say disappointment since I was expecting something totally different and personally I don’t think it’s a move into the right direction.

My biggest gripe with “Deus Deceptor” is lack of genuine atmosphere. Almost all tracks are very well written and arranged but somehow they don’t create a solid unit and leave me with a feeling of a well designed compilation. From Satriani-esque melodic solo based tracks to early In Flames to standard death metal construction “Deus Deceptor” represents a vast variety of emotions but as I stated above I’m finding a hard time linking them together. With standout tracks like ‘Eaten Alive’, the fantastic ‘A Halo Askew’ or ‘Ebony Tower’, NonExist proves unlimited musical potential and increases my cravings for a follow up. If only Reinholdz and Co. could wait a little longer and polish few compositions with greater detail this album might break out as one of the best debuts of the year, but they’re damn close anyway.

Bottom Line: Recommended to anyone with a taste for great guitar work or with love of today’s Swedish melodic scene in general but with progressive twist.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 7
Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 9
Overall: 8

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 3, 2021.

The previous review for Desecration, Pest’s full-length debut from 2003, is titled “Darkthrone worship or rip off” and another reviewer also mentioned the Norwegian duo in his headline. Of course, Pest act in close proximity to the role models who saw a blaze in the northern sky. Already the artwork follows the aesthetics that Darkthrone’s first black metal album established. The number of six tracks also indicates the spiritual connection from Pest to Fenriz and Nocturno Culto and so it comes as no surprise that there are musical similarities as well.

The material commutes between slow-, mid- and fast-paced sections, but the single songs do not like tempo shifts. They are either cold or hot, but they don’t like to change the temperature. From this follows that songs like the pretty slowly flowing 'Hours of Eternity and Death' are not overly exciting in terms of velocity and the decent yet unspectacular guitar work also does not trigger enthusiastic cheers. But honestly speaking – and I know I am pretty alone in this – I never fell in love with “Ablaze in the Northern Sky”. Its ingenious title promised much more than the music was able to keep, just my five cents. In contrast, Pest conquers the black spots of my heart with pieces like the comparatively furious 'Dark Northern Winters'. It is exactly as generic as its name, but I don’t care. I love black metal for what it is, no more, no less.

The album sounds raw. The guitars have a profound, deep tone and the guttural vocals emphasize the Nordic origin. No doubt, the lead singer must be a Scandinavian troll in rage. Anyway, he gives the album a big portion of vileness. Mission fulfilled. This is not to say that the instrumental section lacks negative vibes. In particular the belligerent 'I Am the Plague' (nice idea to put the climax on the last position of the track list) spreads life-denying coldness and whenever Necro nags the title, I have no doubt that he really is the plague. By the way, the final song closes the cycle in terms of speed, because the opener also prefers rapid rhythms. However, I don’t think that 'Ninth Nocturnal Departure' was a good selection for the opening position, because its guitar work seems to be borrowed by Darkthrone, to put it politely. Moreover, the following 'Commanding Armageddon' sounds like the little brother of 'Quintessence'. I agree that the Swedish duo has gone a step too far here.

However, if we forget the lack of originality for a moment, Desecration deserves a positive rating, because it breathes pure, solidly performed black metal. No gimmicks, no superfluous extras, just Scandinavian darkness which was inspired by artists who influenced an entire generation of black metal musicians. If this is the worst problem, then I can live with it.

Rating: 7.2 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 3, 2021.

The previous review for Desecration, Pest’s full-length debut from 2003, is titled “Darkthrone worship or rip off” and another reviewer also mentioned the Norwegian duo in his headline. Of course, Pest act in close proximity to the role models who saw a blaze in the northern sky. Already the artwork follows the aesthetics that Darkthrone’s first black metal album established. The number of six tracks also indicates the spiritual connection from Pest to Fenriz and Nocturno Culto and so it comes as no surprise that there are musical similarities as well.

The material commutes between slow-, mid- and fast-paced sections, but the single songs do not like tempo shifts. They are either cold or hot, but they don’t like to change the temperature. From this follows that songs like the pretty slowly flowing 'Hours of Eternity and Death' are not overly exciting in terms of velocity and the decent yet unspectacular guitar work also does not trigger enthusiastic cheers. But honestly speaking – and I know I am pretty alone in this – I never fell in love with “Ablaze in the Northern Sky”. Its ingenious title promised much more than the music was able to keep, just my five cents. In contrast, Pest conquers the black spots of my heart with pieces like the comparatively furious 'Dark Northern Winters'. It is exactly as generic as its name, but I don’t care. I love black metal for what it is, no more, no less.

The album sounds raw. The guitars have a profound, deep tone and the guttural vocals emphasize the Nordic origin. No doubt, the lead singer must be a Scandinavian troll in rage. Anyway, he gives the album a big portion of vileness. Mission fulfilled. This is not to say that the instrumental section lacks negative vibes. In particular the belligerent 'I Am the Plague' (nice idea to put the climax on the last position of the track list) spreads life-denying coldness and whenever Necro nags the title, I have no doubt that he really is the plague. By the way, the final song closes the cycle in terms of speed, because the opener also prefers rapid rhythms. However, I don’t think that 'Ninth Nocturnal Departure' was a good selection for the opening position, because its guitar work seems to be borrowed by Darkthrone, to put it politely. Moreover, the following 'Commanding Armageddon' sounds like the little brother of 'Quintessence'. I agree that the Swedish duo has gone a step too far here.

However, if we forget the lack of originality for a moment, Desecration deserves a positive rating, because it breathes pure, solidly performed black metal. No gimmicks, no superfluous extras, just Scandinavian darkness which was inspired by artists who influenced an entire generation of black metal musicians. If this is the worst problem, then I can live with it.

Rating: 7.2 out of 10