Filipino black metal trio Deiphago, who formed in Manila but have been based in Costa Rica since 2004, are but one testament to the global reach of metal. They're indebted to the black metal of two Canadian bands, Blasphemy and Conqueror, as well as the Brazilian primitivism of Sarcofago, but play with a looseness not quite fitting any of those groups. Even by the lo-fi fetish standards of black metal, Deiphago commit to a chaos few bands could match. A more polished Deiphago record seems antithetical, but that's what Into the Eye of Satan, their fourth full-length, is to an extent. In the hand of noted metal producer Colin Marston, we see a more complete version of the band.
In Eyes, the chaos isn't squelched, just illuminated. From "Evil and Adverse", it's obvious their actual playing hasn't changed much, but Marston's production makes you better appreciate their muscularity. Guitarist Sidapa's leads are more prominent in the mix. "Bloodbath of Genocide" features wah-wah swaths in the beginning that would have gone unnoticed before, and these minor details add up. His mini-solos in "6x6x6/3" sound more like the playing of a college kid obsessed with free jazz and Thurston Moore than conventional shredding. Sidapa sounds most bizarre in "Calculated Acts of Cruelty" and the title track closer, abandoning any conceits of fluidity. Peaks become valleys without warning and notes criss-cross into tangled weaves.
With improved production, Eye inadvertently reveals the hardcore influence—especially that of d-beat groups like Discharge—that's always been latent in Deiphago's music. Drummer Savnok opts for a looser, punkier style. Vocalist/bassist Voltaire 666's bass may sound less distorted, but it's never sounded meaner. Deiphago may be the true successors of Venom, who brought endearing sloppiness and fuck-all attitude to the creation of black metal. All this, combined with Sidapa's guitar work, finds Deiphago oddly, if pleasingly, working against their own credo. They're not afraid to proclaim "Fuck off to the false!", but Eye is less straitlaced than many of their peers' works. Deiphago's other records may have served as a litmus test for how much discordance you can handle in metal; this is where you fully realize just how serious they are.
