DEVIL MASTER have released "Sex With Succubus," the final preview from "Bloody Dreams," out September 4 via Relapse Records. It is the Philadelphia band's third full-length, following 2019's "Satan Spits On Children Of Light" and 2022's "Ecstasies Of Never Ending Night."
The track is a re-recording of one of the band's earliest songs, originally cut during their demo years and collected on the 2018 Relapse compilation "Manifestations." Frontman Darkest Prince says it returned to the set at the drummer's suggestion.
"'Sex With Succubus' was added to our live set again at the behest of drummer Wrought By Fathomless Hands and it ended up a perfect addition to this record's vibe, hearkening back to our beginnings," he said.
"Bloody Dreams" was written entirely by Darkest Prince, and by his own account the metal is not where the songs come from. Asked about influences, he pointed somewhere else entirely.
"The only thing I'm inspired by is Greek and Andean folk music, as well as Cumbia," he said. "Folk is eternal. I think that resonates with people. It's been cultivated forever. It's archetypal, primal. It taps into something across cultures. W. B. Yeats, the Irish poetic/occultist, is my favorite poet, and he described folk music as proud and lonely. That's always resonated with me. OK, I still listen to a lot of G.I.S.M., BATHORY, and VLAD TEPES — bands I've liked for a very long time — but that's about as metal as I get. So, there's folk music and punk in us, and there's also a lot of psychedelic influence, too."
That folk logic is audible back through the catalogue if you know to listen for it — the upbeats and repetition running under "Black Flame Candle" and "Devil Is Your Master," or "The Vigour Of Evil" and "Acid Black Mass." Since forming in 2015 the band have made a habit of blurring dark against light, misery against aspiration, and Relapse describe the new record as punkier and more psychedelic than its predecessors while keeping a feral black metal aura: front-loaded with rage, then devolving into something looser and stranger as it goes.
The album was mastered by Arthur Rizk and engineered by Davis M. Shubs and Grammy-nominated engineer Eric Bogacz. Guests include Mirai Kawashima of SIGH, former drummer Chris Ulsh of POWER TRIP, and Ur Èmdr Œrvn of ARKHA SVA.
Bloody Dreams tracklisting:
- "You Worms' Vain Delusions"
- "Trembling At Dusk"
- "Sex With Succubus"
- "Death Anthem"
- "Bloody Dreams"
- "Farewell Waltz To Unfortune's Palace"
DEVIL MASTER European tour dates (supporting SIGH except where noted):
- September 3 — Aleksandrów Łódzki, PL @ Summer Dying Loud Festival
- September 4 — Kraków, PL @ Zaścianek
- September 5 — Brno, CZ @ Kabinet MÚZ
- September 6 — Budapest, HU @ Robot *
- September 7 — Munich, DE @ Hansa 39
- September 8 — Leipzig, DE @ Moritzbastei
- September 9 — Berlin, DE @ Badehaus
- September 10 — Copenhagen, DK @ Beta
- September 11 — Hamburg, DE @ Betty
- September 12 — Cologne, DE @ Garagen *
- September 13 — Leeuwarden, NL @ Neushoorn
- September 14 — Utrecht, NL @ DB's
- September 15 — Paris, FR @ Backstage By The Mill
* DEVIL MASTER headline show
"Bloody Dreams" is available to pre-order and pre-save here.