The world will drown!

-- Layers of Devotion --

04/01/2022
Stijn Daneels

Album genres:
Melodic death metal
Album artists:
Monica Janssen Vocals
Michiel van der Plicht Drums
Dominic Bellekom Bass
Maarten Jungschläger Guitars

Review written by Stijn "Metal Shredder" Daneels.

[METAL SHREDDER REPORTING]

Just before the year ended we were contacted by Layers Of Devotion’s founding member Maarten Jungschläger to check out his newly formed online band project and their single debut “Flood Of Violence.” Always interesting to check out new bands with new tunes, especially when I realized in what other bands the members play in.

[SHREDDING BASICS]

“Flood Of Violence” is the first single from the Dutch metal band Layers Of Devotion which was formed in 2021 and features members from established Dutch acts like Downcast Collision, Embers of Oblivion, Carach Angren and Pestilence. The single is released independently and is now available on all major streaming platforms.

After a opening of crunchy bass and banging drums the melodic guitar comes in and then clean, echoing vocals. Then the vocals suddenly get rasher and the riffs intensify as well. The song then continues with catchy, multi-vocal styled choruses, blast beats and of course soaring high guitar solos until all fades to silence.

The song clocks in at a solid 3:46 minutes but does feel shorter than it actually is thanks to its variety. Both clean and grunt vocals (the parts wherein both styles sing in duet is particularly effective), multiple guitar solos and versatile riffs, powerful emphasis on bass and drum beats that go from slow and rhythmic to fast and relentless. The whole package reminds me of Spoil Engine (albeit at a slower pace) but also of the bands from which the members come, particularly Embers Of Oblivion and Downcast Collision. So if you’re a fan of any of these three aforementioned bands than I can confidently say that you’ll like Layers Of Devotion as well. I’m curious to hear what else they’ll have in store for us but I do think that they can make their new tunes even tighter in terms of songwriting and even more intense in terms of instrumentation. But there already is a really solid foundation here.

[SHREDDING VISION]

This “Flood Of Violence” single has an apocalyptic theme. The song depicts a world torn apart by violence, represented by endless rain furiously falling down to the Earth and eventually flooding every inch of it. The song, however, also has a certain confidence to it which I believe to be the band sensing that after this current world has drowned, a new and better world may grow out of it. And therefore they encourage the rain to fall down even harder to make the world drown faster.

[SHREDDER’S SCORECARD]

8 drowned Earths out of 10. Layers of Devotion's debut single is an engaging and multi-faceted melodic death metal tune that, given the band members earlier band experiences, shouldn’t come as a surprise at all. Recommended if you enjoy acts like Arch Enemy, Children of Bodom or our country’s Spoil Engine.