The Devil & The Universe - Occult Pleasures

Austrian ritual-wave ensemble The Devil & The Universe return with their seventh album, Occult Pleasures—a dark, immersive journey that fuses cinematic electronics, occult aesthetics, and brooding darkwave textures. This time, the band places spiritualistic and esoteric practices at the heart of the record, expanding their sonic rites with the addition of new member Ezechiel (Prague) on drums and ritual percussion. From the droning ceremonial opener “Primordial Temples” to the album’s layered atmospheres, Occult Pleasures casts sound as spell and rhythm as rite.

The album features a powerful lineup of guest vocalists drawn from across the dark alternative spectrum. Aux Animaux lends haunting vocals to the tense and pulsing “Beelzebub Unchained,” while Alex Svenson (Then Comes Silence) delivers mournful elegance on the title track. Hungarian artist Zsüd appears on two tracks—the serpentine “Something Wicked” and the guitar-heavy “Hadal Ritual”—while Çağla from Ductape contributes a stunning bilingual performance on the video single “Shadow Projection.” With Ashley Dayour, David Pfister, and Ezechiel at the helm, Occult Pleasures marks a deepening of The Devil & The Universe’s vision—one album, many voices, infinite shadows.