It looked like Divine Eve had called it a career three years ago with the glorious compilation Upon These Ashes Scorn The World, a gem packed with tracks like “The Last Of The Sunset Faded” and “Harlequin of Perpetual Destiny.” However, metal is a genre where comebacks are pretty much guaranteed – even if your recorded output fits on one album. It doesn’t matter if you play grindcore, doom or death; at some point, your band will get back together. 

The Texans are back in business with a new EP Vengeful and Obstinate. And of course the question is can they bring the goods like they did with the underground gem As the Angels Weep almost two decades ago? It’s a mixed bag. Vengeful and Obstinate feels a bit uneven, not entirely unexpected for a band coming out of a long hibernation. But Divine Eve hasn’t entirely lost their footing, either. 

Parts of the EP feel like standard death metal and others hint at the haunting, baroque sound that made their earlier music so atypical for old-school death metal. The band does best when it dials down and digs in with the Celtic Frost/Hellhammer style riffing on tracks like “Vindication.” Divine Eve should be served slow and painful; hopefully, any further new material reclaims the sound they mastered years ago. 

The material on Vengeful and Obstinate isn’t mind-blowing, but I’m admittedly judging it based on their exceptional if slim 90s output. If often takes a few cuts to get back in the groove, and there are many hints that the band will return to form – as long as they stick together long enough on the second go-around.

[Visit the band's website]

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