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DeVicious: Phrase Three
DeVicious - Phrase Three Art

DeVicious: Phrase Three

Melodic Hard Rock
4.0/5.0

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Metalapolis Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 08.04.2020 | Released: 08.05.2020

Since their formation in 2016, Germany's DeVicious has been on a steady roll, releasing a studio album every year since 2018, hitting the European festival circuit, and touring with bands like Hardline and Ammunition. Now DeVicious returns with their third consecutive release, appropriately titled, Phase Three. But the album comes with some changes. The band has been reduced to a quintet, and they've added a new vocalist, Antonio Calanna.

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DeVicious

What hasn't changed is DeVicious' commitment to classic melodic hard rock, bristling with some heavy metal edge, and then wrapped up in AOR accessibility. Actually, I might say that Phase Three may be a bit heavier and faster than my previous experience, 2018's Never Say Never. Certainly, songs such as Firefly, Rising From A Thunder, Our Song, and Mysterious offer brisk, thick riffs, some gallop in the pacing, and stronger bass and drum lines. That rhythm section, notably the bass, takes a prominent lead in both Calling My Name and even more so within Burning Skies, a moderately paced hard rock tune. Similar, a song such as You Can't Stop Me Now allows for tough riffs and a heavy bottom end, but with more steady pacing. Alternatively, spry synths introduce Higher, a song that turns on a lively rock rhythm and groove from both the guitar line and the rhythm section for something more akin to AOR melodic hard rock. If you're looking for the necessary ballad, you'll have to wait for the bonus track, Bad Timing. Throughout, Radivoj Petrovic rips up his fret board for some ambitious and soaring solos. As for vocalist Calanna, I thought his voice had some Tobi Sammett timbre. All in all, with Phase Three, DeVicious offers listeners another solid and entertaining, and perhaps heavier, album of melodic hard rock. Recommended.



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The Bottom Line

All in all, with Phase Three, DeVicious offers listeners another solid and entertaining, and perhaps heavier, album of melodic hard rock. Recommended.

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