CD Info
2011
Listenable Records
10  Tracks
English Lyrics

I first discovered Sarah Jezebel Deva via a recommendation from the lead singer/songwriter for Australia’s Temujin, Kelly Lean. I listened to Angtoria’s God Has a Plan for Us All and was immediately captivated by SJD’s vocals. Not yet brave enough to venture into Cradle of Filth territory, where SJD started making a name for herself in the metal scene as a backup singer, I played Angtoria until the CD was nigh on burnt out. What I loved most of all aside from SJD’s voice were her lyrics; this is a woman who pulls no punches with her subject matter, and songs about topics such as suicide, cutting, and sexual abuse by a priest really impressed me with their honesty. Her lyrics are bold, and I loved that about God Has a Plan. As I eagerly awaited news of a follow-up from Angtoria, SJD released her first solo album, A Sign of Sublime. I liked it. Again, the lyrics impressed me, and I liked the kind of chaotic, discordant feel to the music that set it apart from Angtoria. Now, just over a year later, SJD has released a second solo effort, entitled The Corruption of Mercy. I highly anticipated this album and boy did it ever impress me.

Right from the start, with the opening track "No Paragon of Virtue", the listener is blasted with bombastic, heavy-as-hell, symphonic power metal, and that introduction sets the tone for the rest of the album, which gracefully combines elements of symphonic power metal, Gothic metal, and just good old heavy metal. TCoM is fast, powerful, complex, catchy, and ballsy. The first single, for which there is an accompanying video, "The World Won’t Hold Your Hand", continues in the vein of the previous track, and has a hooky chorus.

The bombast doesn’t let up until track six, an acoustic piece called "Pretty with Effects," which showcases SJD’s range and emotion. Track seven is an instrumental piece. This mid-CD interlude is a nice break after the energy of the first five songs. This counterpoint shows some great thinking and planning on the part of whoever ordered the songs for the CD. We see a return to the previous energy with the final three tracks, one of which is the eponymous "The Corruption of Mercy."

Highlights in this release are aplenty for me. One of my favourite songs is "A Matter of Convenience", which has some stellar lyrics about a woman who is regularly used by a boy in her life who only calls her when he’s lonely: "I need more whiskey to get me through/So overrated, should have been sedated/I'd rather watch paint dry." The imagery is great. Other favourites of mine are the aforementioned "No Paragon of Virtue" and "The Corruption of Mercy," which contains yet more examples of SJD’s cutting, blunt lyrics about dark subject matters.

The CD also includes a cover of The Cranberries’ 1994 hit, "Zombie," and I have to say that this is an excellent cover and it’s one of my favourite pieces on the album.

I also think SJD shows off her range a bit more overall in TCoM, which is great to hear because her voice is utterly mesmerizing as usual. She has got to be one of the most underrated female vocalists in metal. Her backing tracks are rich and add so much texture to the sound of the album.

This was a very well thought out album, with a lot of the elements fans of SJD have come to love her for - vocals, lyrics, sound - with a stepping up of the symphonic power metal side of this artist we saw glimpses of in Angtoria’s debut album. The Corruption of Mercy is an album to be savored and it’s going near the top of my "best of 2011" list for sure. I really hope this CD launches Sarah into great things. Score-wise, I give it a 9 / 10.

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