Track By Tracks: Devangelic - Xul (2023)

1. Scribes Of Xul:

After a short intro that recalls the sounds of ancient Arab civilizations, it starts what is probably one of the best songs of the new album and also one of the best Devangelic songs ever written. Definitely one of my favorite songs, even in the composition phase. A perfect opening track, technical and fast, that combines classic brutal death metal parts, but also sinister and dark melodies and cadenced and evocative parts. "Xul" which gives the album its name, is the first word that is sung by Paolo, a sort of initial evocation that then develops throughout the entire song.

2. Which Shall Be The Darkness Of The Heretic:

It's one of the more challenging tracks on the album for all of us, from the drums to the vocals; 3 minutes and 37 seconds of pure brutality. Super technical, super heavy, evil, fast, all elements that we particularly like in a song. One of the things I like the most about the song is Paolo's voice, he really did a great job in making this song incredible.

3.Udug-hul Incantation:

"Udug-Hul Incantation" is the slowest song on the album with many creepy dissonances and catchy riffs. It was the second song that I wrote in 2020 for Xul and I think it's one of the best songs I've ever written for Devangelic. I love the lyrics of this song, they are evil, brutal, and evocative; the text is inspired by the book “Healing Magic and Evil Demons” by Markham J. Geller and talks of an ancient exorcism which, however, ends in the worst way where all the participants, instead of being able to free the possessed from the atavistic evil, end up being in turn possessed by the spirit of Evil Udug.

4. Famine Of Nineveh:

This is one of the last songs that I've composed for the album in chronological order. I wanted to add another instrumental short song to complete the songwriting, but I also wanted something creepy, dissonant, with a lot of atmospheres. It's just a combination of some samples and orchestral arrangements. We also used some female choirs to give the song a lot of depth and epicness. Surely an interlude that we'll use during live performances as well.

5.Sirius, Draconis, Capricornus:

This song is mainly inspired by the “Necronomicon Gnosis” book and is surely one of the most catchy tracks on the album and one of my favorite Devangelic songs ever. The song is divided into three parts, as the title names; each part represents one of the three cults referenced in the title track and all the parts have their own identity with variety in the tempo; from a crushing, heavy, furious beginning, to irresistible catchy mid-paced groove, until the ending slows down the tempo and comes with a creeping and evil vibe. It's extremely fun to play. The lyrics are some of my favorite on the album, as are the amazing vocal performances by Paolo, as well as some extremely brutal, yet tasteful and enjoyable, work from Marco on drums and Alessio on bass.

6. Worship Of The Black Flames:

This is a typical Devangelic song in that it is in your face, fast and furious, with some dissonant arpeggios, a lot of double bass, and blast beats. It is a very challenging song to play and record in which we included some evocative chants and a little classical guitar interlude at the beginning (written and performed by Massimiliano Cirelli). The ending part is one of my favorites from the album because it is simple; just a few guitar chords, but so heavy, and a perfect part for headbanging.

Regarding the main concept behind the song, it is based on a sacrificial rite towards the Alien Gods in which the participants are the worshipers of the "black flame" (understood as human wickedness). A funny curiosity about the concept of the song is that it's inspired by the film "Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom," specifically in the scene where there is that young man sacrificed to the goddess Kali Ma, where other kneeled people are praying, almost possessed by the evil spirit. I always found that part very scary and brutal. but grotesque at the same time. and it turned out to be a good inspiration for something evil.

7. Ignominious Flesh Degradation:

This track is a banger. I think it's the most brutal and most challenging track of the album. During the songwriting I wanted to create a short, furious and creepy song, in fact, it is the shortest of the record at 2:47 minutes. Particular lyrics that concern, precisely, some decomposition phases of the body; texts that in part recall the more gory parts that we used on our debut album. I'm very happy with how this track turned out on the album.

8. Hymn Of Savage Cannibalism:

I wanted to have on this track a special interlude that combines melodies and a middle eastern atmosphere, so I asked my friend and great guitar teacher/performer Massimiliano Cirelli (Helion, Hiss From The Moat) to write something cool for the upcoming album. This is a collaborative song where Max wrote and performed all the classical guitars and I have added all the samples/ethnic stuff to provide a great combination of elements. I think it turned out excellent; a very unusual song for Devangelic!

9. Shadows Of The Iniquitous:

Another one of my favorite songs on the album, I think it came out very cool! It's fast and brutal, but with a simple structure. I've included many dissonant parts and a cool breakdown section almost at the end of the track. While this song does have a darker feel, it was a fun one to write and record. An interesting fact about this track is that the long mid-track dissonant arpeggio is the first riff I ever composed for "Xul" early in 2020, before our previous album "Ersetu" was out.

10.Sa Belet Ersetim Ki'Am Parsusa:

I wanted to create a special song to close the album and this one turned out very cool. It starts with an unusually slow part that includes some epic harmonized chords and accents before changing to violence and brutality, with some catchy riffs as well. Everything in this song sounds fantastic. Every time I write a new song I push myself to compose good tracks and I had a lot of fun putting all of this material together for this record. It's always a good learning experience when you try to do something new and different from the previous material. I really believe that this record shows that we were very prepared and inspired this time, and got the stuff as tight as we could get it. You can pre-order the album and hear a track at https://devangelic.bandcamp.com/album/xul.