This scribe thought Ancient VVisdom would be the next breakout band from the swelling devil rock field; the sidebar act to Ghost’s carnival appearance and The Devil’s Blood straight-faced, no frills approach. They certainly had the album to do it in the form of last year’s A Godlike Inferno, which married mysterious acoustic rock with machete/bamboo thrusts, chants, and tunes one could hum for days. Maybe it’s because of their uneven, almost foreign approach, AVV hasn’t quite resonated with people, and that doesn’t figure to change based on their sophomore Deathlike album, which doesn’t differ too much from its predecessor.

Those who can’t get past the obvious qualities of the band’s sound will instantly relegate this to campfire status, for one could easy generate visions of a bunchy of bearded, smelly dudes around a roaring fire singing songs about our good pal Old Scratch. And yeah, the cerebral types (which this scribe may or may not be) could also see that, but the real bang-up with AVV comes via singer Nathan Opposition’s soulful croon, one that gives numbers like “Let the End Begin” and the fantastic title track the right degree of humanity and dare we say: commercial edge.

Once past the title track, Deathlike starts to level off, although the festering “Waiting to Die” threatens to be a quasi anthem, while “Far Beyond Good and Evil” relishes in the band’s would-be patented foot-stomping tempos. However, the meandering “Rebirth” lacks any sort of urgency, “Look Alive” comes across as a tad hokey, and “Death or Victory” gets turned around (the wrong way) via a ho-hum “whoa-whoa” chorus.

Deathlike is still a winner, in spite of its quick (and unnecessary) sojourn to plainsville. The title is to die for, and if you’re in the right frame of mind (read: relaxed, feeling like you want to get in touch with nature, but not in a black metal way), then Ancient VVisdom should be up your alley. Deathlike doesn’t top A Godlike Inferno, but it doesn’t push these gents out of the devil rock conversation either. Call this one a draw.

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