Devildriver
The Fury of Our Maker’s Hand
A devil driver is the name witches give to the bells they use to drive evil away when they are casting their spells. For lead singer Dez Fafara music has always been his way to drive away his demons. He was formerly in Coal Chamber. With new guitarists, bassist and drummer, he is back again to bring a demonic heavy sound.
Devildriver’s sound has matured a lot since their self titled debut. There is way more melody while even making it more heavy. “Pale Horse Apocalypse” has a tight solo. Each song is well written musically, and the “death vocals” are on pitch. Songs like “Hold back the day” combine speed riffs, heavy cords, harmonized speed riffs, and excellent vocals. The good parts of this album are that, great guitar, great vocals, decent drumming. Each song sounds like its own. They evolved their sound very well while keeping what they started with on their debut album. They show great maturity on this, and I can’t wait for the next album by them.
What I didn’t like.
There is not much I don’t like. There are a couple of songs that I’m not a fan of. “End of The Line” mostly. I listen to this and I really can’t find anything I don’t like.
The Band-
Dez Fafara – vocals
He was the singer of Coal Chamber originally, long time ago. He founded Devildriver and brought back his vision of music. His vocals on the album are excellent. They are always on pitch and fit the moment in the song. His mastery of music is shown through out the album.
Jeff Kendrick- guitar
Mike Spreitzer – guitar
Jon Miller - bass
Both guitarists deliver heavy, dark, riffs as well as speedy demonic melodies. All the guitar work on the album is very crisp. There are some solos, such as in “Pale Horse Apocalypse”. They are small yet tasty. At points such as in “Hold Back the Day”, the guitars play dual melodies at lightning pace. I think the guitar work on this album is great, however I would have liked a few more solos. Maybe the ones they put in, but longer. Never the less, everything flows together seamlessly. It’s hard to hear the bass in a lot of parts, however the parts where I can, it sounds well done. It’s mostly under the two guitars. When you can hear it, it’s fast, just as the guitar work.
John Boecklin – Drums
I really took the drumming for granted on this album until I wrote this review. Now I realize that it’s actually pretty good. It blends with the guitar work and flows through each song. Everything just seems to fit right in place. As with all the guitar, drumming, bass on this album.
I recommend trying,
“Hold Back the Day”
“Sin and Sacrifice”
“Before The Hangman’s Noose”
All songs are great, well written, check this album by all means.
