Review by Nathan on August 30, 2023.

Is it just me or is Norwegian death metal just Swedish death metal with extra black metal influence? There's little extra low-end and chainsaw tone to augment the ominous, minimal tremolo, and then there you go. Don't believe me? Check out the similar artists for Blood Red Throne, one of the more well-known Norwegian death metal bands - three of their top four most similar artists are Vomitory, Bloodbath and Aeon. 122 Stab Wounds are an early example of this style - released in 1996, a time when black metal was getting a tad too saturated and chainsaw death metal was falling out of favor. It doesn't do a ton to stand out beyond this mild novelty of being that specific mix of Swedeath and Norblack, and although time wasn't unkind to this album, you kind of get why this didn't rise to the upper echelon of lauded releases from this time period.

Given this group's location and the time period they existed in, there are a couple of noteworthy connections - this album was mastered by Garm, and a few current and ex-members have some ties to Gehenna. That alone doesn't mean this is going to stand out, but it does give at least a bit of a guarantee it's not going to be completely unlistenable. There's definitely a few draws in this - the guitar tone is great, weighty with a healthy bass presence but still enough bite to give you that chainsaw feel, and there's lots of nice grooves that come out of that combination. Songwriting-wise, they don't venture outside of their comfort zone too much, preferring to cycle through a few push-and pulls between uptempo tremolo riffing and Entombed-style grooves and call it a day. There's a bit of dorky dungeon synth in here, but they at least have the decency to make separate tracks (Intro and Reginae Noctiluca) so you can skip around it. It's not terrible music, but it doesn't tie in to the proper songs.

The best songs on this are the ones that lean more into the black metal influences, with the closing title track being a standout example. Had they gone more with the approach this song takes, the interludes would have made more sense, and things would have felt generally more intriguing and cohesive. the worst tracks are the ones that feature a lot of midpaced kick drum, because the clicky kick (say that 5 times fast) is grating, especially because there's not enough space and variation in the rolling footwork. Still, though, there's enough consistency in the grooving that even the weaker songs aren't especially bad - overall, The Deity of Perversion is thoroughly decent. If this was released in 2023 - and perhaps if the number of stab wounds in their name was bumped up - this band would probably get a good bit of attention now, but because it's a second or third-tier release in a scene that was saturated at the time, it gets relegated to obscurity, even though they were hanging out with some of the Norwegian scene OGs. Is what it is I guess. Only worth seeking out if you're a frothing maniac for chainsaw tone OSDM or a Head Not Found completionist or something.

Rating: 6.9 out of 10