Divine:Zero - The day God left (2008) - Open-minded straightness - 75% (08/10/10)

Divine:Zero play a very technical and sometimes progressive or even epic Melodic Death Metal in the style of the old Gotheburg school. They are not even afraid to include some thrash metal elements and even some reduced keyboards in their sound. That is what makes their sound quite diversified and interesting and you should better be open-minded to like this special approach. Maybe their original sound is a little bit comparable to stuff from Dark Tranquility, Scar Symmetry and In Flames, so if you are a fan of one of those two bands, you might give this album a try.

They prefer to develop some progressive, epic or even symphonic melodies and put them into a dark and atmospheric sound instead of playing extremely fast and agressive as most bands of the genre do. The most positive thing is that the band only slightly uses all those influences and elements. There are no annoying keyboard solos in the key of Children of Bodom or experimental ballads like on the last albums of In Flames, Divine:Zero decided to use those elements less but when they use them, they really fit and surprise us. They are diversified but they are not abusing this open-minded attitude and they are straight enough.

That's why even I as someone who doesn't really is into the death metal genre like this original and atmospheric album a lot. As you can see, you must not be a fan of the genre to like this stuff and if you are a newbie to the death metal scene albums like these may help you to discover this genre and get addicted to it.

There is no real filler on this album, the only weak points are the average production and the fact that there is no real outstanding and extremely catchy or innovative song. But they are still quite young. I think that this band could get its breakthrough in a few years and let's hope that those talented guys work hard and carry on to develop their already original style even further.