Back with their third full-length offering, and with a title that I just don’t seem to be able to read without hearing it in Victor Meldrew’s voice (that’s ruined it), Philadelphia’s Devil Master once again bring a very unique psychedelic tinged punky, groovy brand of black’n’roll.
I am huge fan of their debut, ‘Satan Spits On Children of Light’ with its aggressive yet playful aural ambush. I sat back and enjoyed their slight shift into more psychedelic waters on 2022’s ‘Ecstasies of Never Ending Night’, and now find that, in 2026, on ‘Bloody Dreams’ they have successfully moulded both approaches into one, rather thespian, display.
With a run time of just shy of 30 minutes, this is a burst of Shelley and Wordsworth in a room full of electrified instruments. The darkly romantic, macabre and horror-filled heart that sits within the music of Devil Master has never been so omnipresent as it is on this record.
To be fair, it begins with three tracks, namely ‘You Worms’ Vain Delusion’, ‘Trembling At Dusk’ and ‘Sex With Succubus’, that are straight bangers. The band weave the pulsing hammering of black thrash into a jumpy, punky maelstrom complete with scarred vocals and some wonderful guitar solos.
In true poetic style however, maybe an iambic pentameter, it is from ‘Death Anthem’ onwards where this record takes to the stage and really struts its stuff. The track succeeds in somehow wearing both leather and lace – a cut off jacket with some rather fancy lacy sleeves – if you will. The two parts of ‘Bloody Dreams’ see experimentation with atmosphere, spoken word and a true sense of drama, before closer ‘Farewell Waltz to Unfortunate’s Palace’ sits as the most progressive, and impressive, track on the record.
Devil Master take their time between releases, and have stuck firmly to their position in the Relapse Records roster. All this is clearly a very well-considered strategy as they have, thus far, upped their game every time. ‘Bloody Dreams’ is an album you don’t just hear….you see it as well.
Best Paired With: Lacy cuffs, a bottle of bloody-looking liquid, and some of those fake teeth you get in joke shops.
Reviewed by Jaff.
Devil Master – Bloody Dreams is out now on Relapse Records.
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