The well of interesting Japanese metal and rock bands can sometimes seem endless, as whether you’re looking for something on the more mainstream side or completely underground the country has plenty to offer. In the past actually being able to find it easily outside of the country proved difficult, but with increased access thanks to streaming services this has gotten much easier in recent years. One of my recent finds is Osaka based Deviloof, who fuse together elements of deathcore, death metal, nu metal, and visual kei. For the uninitiated on that last one, think a slightly more core leaning take on something like X Japan or Dir En Grey and that will give you a good starting point. Deviloof has been pretty active recently, releasing the Damned EP in 2023 and following it up less than a year later with the Song For the Weak. EP. Offering five new tracks, the band has embraced some further deathcore chugs and guttural vocals as well as some very Slipknot sounding arrangements. It’s surprisingly a bit less chaotic than their previous full lengths, and while the emphasis on instrumental tracks does leave the actual content feeling a bit light it does showcase some interesting ideas that are worth giving a listen.
In terms of variety, the opening title track gives a good indication of how much Deviloof can cram into the span of a single song while keeping a seamless flow. Compared to their full lengths this may actually come across as a bit less chaotic to established fans, but it’s still a lot to take in, especially for newcomers. The first few minutes throw dense Slipknot type grooves and bursts of effects at the listener that are very nu-metal, but some of the faster riffs have a bit more of a melodic death metal and groove metal vibe to them. Once you reach the chorus the sound throws in a bit more electronics and comes through somewhere between Slipknot’s Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) and the type of Japanese metal/rock you’d hear on the opening or ending theme for an edgier anime. Around the three-minute mark the band transitions once again, incorporating some heavy breakdowns that bridge the gap between metalcore and deathcore. “Everything Is All Lies” and “Execution” offer similar twists and turns, with the former heading into the most deathcore and death metal and the latter injecting a bit more rock into the chorus. Both these tracks have a lot of memorable moments alongside their twists and turns, and the sheer weight of the recording ensures that the instrumentation hits hard. However, “Living Hell” and “Labyrinth” don’t quite have the same impact as they pivot to instrumental/interlude type material and given the already short run-time it makes me wish there was at least one more full song. “Living Hell” goes for moodier effects and an almost industrial pulse, but it’s short length makes it come across like an extended introduction for “Execution”. “Labyrinth” isn’t bad by any means, and does showcase some decent grooves, but it’s a muted way to end the EP especially when compared to the insanity of the opener.
While the riffs are likely to catch your interest on first listen, it’s the performance of vocalist Keisuke that will stand out the most. This is where Deviloof impresses with both brutality and variation, as there’s a back and forth between screamed/yelled passages, death metal/deathcore squeals and growls, and different clean singing pitches. The title track starts off with distorted growls that have a more nu metal or metalcore vibe, but the chorus has a singing pitch that reminds me of a cross between several different alternative/nu metal bands from the late 90s and early 2000s. Things switch over to guttural squeals towards the end of the track, and these appear at key points on the other two songs that have vocals. “Execution” has the most J-Rock feel to it when the soaring clean singing comes in, and this is where Deviloof starts to differentiate themselves a bit from some of the other deathcore adjacent bands out there. Not every pitch might click depending on your taste, but I personally appreciated the spastic nature of the performance and the consistent intensity.
As they approach their ten-year anniversary, Deviloof has continued to branch out and try different things while keeping their brutal foundation. Two instrumental tracks does admittedly feel like a lot for an EP, and they may have been better served on a longer release, but the other three are well worth the price of admission. Both this EP and Damned seem like a good indication of where the band is heading, as they’re still offering plenty of variety but also injecting some additional hooks into the mix, and that leaves me interested to see just where they go from here. Song For the Weak. is available from Tokuma Japan.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg