Devildriver "s/t" CD
[Roadrunner]
Holy shit, I can't believe this band is fronted by the former vocalist of fucking Coal Chamber, undoubtedly one of the worst bands ever to grace the fucking planet, because this isn't bad, and for the most part it's raging metal through and through. I shit you not when I state with certainty that there are some tremolo picked black/death metal riffs in "Die (And Die Now)". Sure, the song after that has a terrible groovy verse riff with some rap-ish vocal patterns that totally rub me the wrong way and make little sense in the context of this record as a whole, and yeah, there are some nu-metal fragments elsewhere on the record, but still... for the most part this is way fucking better than anyone would expect based on the Coal Chamber connection. It's basically just ultra heavy metal with basic riffing that wanders between various territories with really throaty, textured vocal screams and a slight bit of singing. Other tracks like "The Mountain" combine thick dual guitar harmonies and slightly Swedish thrash riffs with Pantera styled rhythms; while "Swinging the Dead", albeit too groovy for me, does have some promising heavy rock undercurrents that get a tad sludgy, and I like that. I love the recording, I have to give 'em that. Everything is pummelingly heavy yet clear, and even though the drums are a little bit taut they blend in well and still sound good to me. I'd like to hear the snare mixed back in more, but the bass tone is massive, the guitars are heavy, and the texture of the vocals is very evident. Nice fucking work there. The layout really grabs my eye for some reason. I like the text and the iconography, the color scheme, the textures and text arrangements, etc. The lyrics themselves are a bit stripped down and simplistic, bordering on being underdeveloped, but it is a really nice looking package. I'm really surprised by this. It's not something I could listen to all the time because it's definitely a little boring after about 25 minutes (because many of the songs have a tendency to lean towards similar rhythmic trappings), but I would not at all rule out having this band drop a raging record in the future, because there's a lot happening here that I'd like to hear explored further. I mean, the last track, "Devil's Son", is hands down a piece of generic nu-metal shit. But hot damn, that opener, "Nothing's Wrong", is full of thrashy speeds and energy, and that shit is right where this band ought to be heading! The first three tracks on this disc would've made a great fucking EP. (6/10)
Running time - 41:11, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Nothing's Wrong, I Could Care Less, Die (And Die Now)]
Roadrunner Records - http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com

This review has been displayed 2297 times.