Alright, let’s dive into Divine Darkness by In Dying Grace. Released back in ’97 under the Hellraiser label, this UK death metal gem is a raw punch to the gut—exactly what you want from the genre. It’s not perfect, but damn if it doesn’t leave a mark. The album’s got five tracks: “Divine Darkness,” “Odin,” “Manifest,” “Darkness,” and “Eternal Enchanter.” I’ll focus on two that really stuck with me.
First up, “Odin.” Man, this track just rips. Right off the bat, the drums are hammering away like they’ve got something to prove, and the guitars? Brutal. Like, chainsaw-to-the-face brutal. What makes it memorable for me is how unrelenting it feels—there’s no chill moment, no breather. Just pure chaos from start to finish. Plus, throwing Odin into a death metal song? Classic move. Feels like a nod to all those mythology-obsessed metalheads out there. You can practically smell the incense and hear someone shouting about Valhalla while headbanging in their mom’s basement.
Then there’s “Eternal Enchanter.” This one creeps up on you. It starts slow, almost doom-y, before exploding into this wild riff fest. The vocals here are gnarly as hell—like the singer’s throat is being shredded live. But weirdly enough, it works. There’s this eerie vibe running through the whole thing, like you’re walking through some ancient cursed forest or whatever. By the time it ends, you’re left feeling kinda haunted. Not bad for a random track on an under-the-radar album.
The rest of the album keeps things heavy, though nothing else quite hits the same way these two do. Overall, Divine Darkness isn’t gonna blow your mind with production quality—it’s lo-fi as heck—but that’s part of its charm. It’s real, y’know? No frills, just straight-up aggression and attitude.
So yeah, listening to this album feels like stepping back in time to the late ‘90s when death metal was still finding its feet. And honestly, I think that’s why I dig it so much. It’s messy, loud, and unapologetically itself. Makes me wonder what In Dying Grace would sound like today if they ever decided to drop new stuff… or maybe they’re better off staying frozen in time. Either way, crank this one loud if you love your metal dark and dirty.
Oh, and fun fact: writing about this made me realize how much I miss cassettes. Yeah, I said it. Cassettes ruled. Deal with it.
