For too long now, Sarah Jezebel Deva has mostly been referred to as the "ex-backing singer from Cradle Of Filth", which is doing a huge disservice to her talents not only as a vocalist but as a songwriter too.

SJD has already proved her worth beyond doubt on her solo releases and as part of the work she did with symphonic Metal band Angtoria, and following on from the 2011s excellent 'The Corruption Of Mercy' album, comes a new three track EP which reinforces the fact that she has more than enough talent to stand on her own two feet.



It should be pointed out here that although 'This Is My Curse' does in fact feature a guest performance by one Dani Filth, SJD is by no means hanging onto past glories or trying for 'sales by association', with his inclusion on this track. This is a good, strong song which deals with the subject of the fur trade and animal cruelty, as SJD reinforces the message that it is simply not acceptable in this day and age.

Filth's trademark vocals mix well with those of SJD as they always did in the past, and one can only hope that SJD gets the chance to return the favour by appearing on a future Cradle Of Filth release.

'Lies Define Us' oozes with class as SJD's vocals again mix seamlessly with those of another guest performer, this time in the shape of Soilwork's vocalist Bjorn Strid. The track itself may be less powerful when compared to 'This Is My Curse', but is still an exceptionally good track.

The final track presented here is surely her tour-de-force – 'When It Catches Up With You'”. With the relentless pounding of Stefanovic's drums in the background and a solid guitar sound, this is probably my favourite track from this EP and as such has made it onto my July 2012 playlist.

SJD puts in a truly stunning performance here and I, for one at least, am hoping that this will see its way into her live set in the near future if it's not already been included.

As I said earlier, last year's 'The Corruption Of Mercy' was a fantastic effort and one can only hope that the quality of tracks produced for that album and this new EP will hopefully be a sign that a third full album from the band cannot be far away.

You can catch the band on tour in Europe supporting TRISTANIA:

Friday 14th September – Bibelot, Dordrecht, Holland
Saturday 15th September – Onair Studio, Mons, Belgium
Sunday 16th September – Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Holland
Monday 17th September – The Underworld, London, England
Tuesday 18th September – Glaz art, Paris, France
Thursday 20th September – Tunk, Irun, Spain
Friday 21st September – Carasol, Madrid, Spain
Saturday 22nd September – Mephisto, Barcelona, Spain
Sunday 23rd September – Poste a Galane, Marseille, France
Tuesday 25th September – Bastard club, Osnabruck, Germany
Wednesday 26th September – K17, Berlin, Germany
Thursday 27th September – Z7, Pratteln, Switzerland
Friday 28th September – Nachtleben, Frankfurt, Germany
Saturday 29th September – Turock, Essen , Germany

Tracklist:
This Is My Curse
Lies Define Us
When 'It' Catches Up With You

Band Members:
Sarah Jezebel Deva – Vocals
Azz Inferno – Guitar
Dan Abela – Guitar
AblaZ – Bass
Damjan Stefanovic – Drums
Martin Powell – Keyboards

Online:
http://www.sarahjezebeldeva.co.uk/

'Malediction' EP available now exclusively as a digital download from http://www.amazon.co.uk




24.7.12