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Review Summary: Devastation is here, and there's nothing you can do about it Why did you even bother / Bringing me here just to leave?
This world is a messed up place, and sometimes it feels like there’s nothing you can really do about it. It’s a desperate and hopeless feeling, yet all you can do is wonder where it all went wrong. With their newest effort, Out of Service drops the acoustics of their emo-influenced style and opts for a heavier and more intense approach, creating an emotionally raw and abrasive sound that reflects that feeling. Devastation Awaits captures that feeling of angst and frustration all too well.
I know better than to drown myself in sorrow everyday / And yet it seems that I just can’t help it
From start to finish, Devastation Awaits shows the progression from angst-driven frustration to hopeless acceptance through the sound of the music itself. “Devastation” opens the record with a bassy, distorted riff, energetic drum chops and high-pitched screams that reflect that angst. “The Observer” matches that same energy, filled with a fair share of screams, pummeling drums and a breakdown that emphasizes the feeling of loss and confusion expressed throughout. Tracks like “J. J. Lenoir” and “Dust” mix that angsty aggression with the somber acceptance of hopelessness, characterized by verses full of clean guitar passages, choruses accentuated by punky double time drumming, and short breakdowns that encapsulate the feeling of being stuck in place. “Shadowfell” and “Closer” replicate that emotional despair of reflection on all that went wrong, through reverb saturated ambiance and soaring melodic choruses that tell the story of the world’s helpless situation.
Let the waves wash away / Any sign of my collapse
One noticeable difference this time around is Out of Service’s focus on the heavy elements of their songwriting. There aren’t any songs like “Twenty Roses” or “Navigator” that have an acoustic ballad approach. Instead, Devastation Awaits drops the softer style and opts for a more intense feel driven by distorted and bassy riffs and grooves across the record. At times, this approach feels a little bit too same-y, with every song being characterized by the same features of catchy and aggressive basslines and dynamic songwriting that balances soft verse with hard-hitting chorus. However, it is a formulaic style that Out of Service has seemed to master, knowing when to change it up just a bit with a new melody or a softer break in the song to breathe some new life into the album, like “Acrylic Sealer” and “Ripples on a Blank Shore” with melodic guitar leads and saxophone in the latter that give a breath of fresh air to the intensity of the rest of the album.
When I’m gone /Feed my ashes to the trees / Be useful for once
Devastation Awaits is a heavy album. Musically, it’s the most intense Out of Service has been, but it is also lyrically saturated with heavy emotion. The world sucks, and this album shares the sentiment that there is nothing we can do about it. Though Out of Service dropped their acoustic and at times stripped down sound of their previous albums, Devastation Awaits embraces this more aggressive tone, creating an album that feels just as desperate as it does angry.
We’re all to blame / We drown in shame
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Album Rating: 3.9
Very fun record overall, and it hits pretty hard compared to their other stuff
Huge fan of "Ripples on a Blank Shore" and "Dust"
| | | Album Rating: 3.9
Checking this now because of Art's post in the discord and uhhhh it rules. Loving it so far. Sick review brother! Love that hazy alt-rock/noise pop-ish atmosphere mixed with the emo intensity.
Update: I fucking love this.
| | | Album Rating: 3.9
It's really great, I'll probably bump it quite honestly
| | | Album Rating: 3.9
This is one of the best emo albums I've heard in a long time tbh.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I'm still torn between this and The Ground Beneath Me for best OOS. That album I feel was slightly catchy and more memorable, but this one is more daring, intense, and cathartic. Acrylic Sealer and Ripples are my favorites right now. Album is still growing on me, too.
| | | Album Rating: 3.9
I think I prefer The Ground Beneath Me because it gave a little bit more variability in the songwriting, but the stuff here is phenomenal regardless
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that the Mason Maggio feature on Dust is top tier
| | | Album Rating: 3.9
Yeah, I totally forgot to mention that in the review, but that feature is definitely a highlight of the album in that second verse
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looks like a psychedelic black metal album cover
then i saw the band name and was very confused
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Killer review! Just seeing this now, will throw up on our socials tomorrow! Thank you for taking the time to reflect on the record.
Also, you’re all wrong, Burden is the best haha. Well burden is my favorite, but this one I’m the happiest with how it sounds. I have a lot of issues with the mix on The Ground Beneath Me which has soured it a bit for me over time.
Edit: also wanted to throw up the vinyl link for anyone interested.
https://www.diggersfactory.com/shop/Outofservice
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Just finished spinning this and glad to see it got a review
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
This is some really good shit, def gonna have to check out their back catalogue
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Awesome review, guess I’ll have to check this out
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the fuckin saxophone on “Ripples on a Blank Shore” is crazy. Love how adventurous they got with this one.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Yeah that stood out as my favorite part. I was listening back when the song's working title was something like Woah Triple Rainbow and I still prefer that name haha.
They've also made some changes to the mix since then though, and I'm glad because this album sounds fantastic.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I get some very heavy The Used vibes off of this, like if they had continued in the style of The Canyon. Obviously also getting The Republic of Wolves out of this, no surprise given the feature.
| | | Album Rating: 3.9
I was gonna say I got some The Used and some The Early November from this tbh.
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TEN is an all timer for me, so that makes sense haha!
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
how have I never heard this band before? this album is super sick
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Really cool seeing some of these ratings come through, and love that the album seems to be connecting with the staff here! If anyone ever has any advice on how to promote our stuff more, I'm always all ears since we are still a very small band.
Finally, wanted to share some tidbits on the album. This record was originally going to be self titled, we called it Devastation Awaits on our fake Bandcamp almost as a joke because of the heavier direction, but then Mike (our singer) painted the art, and we were like, "wait this actually works really well."
We also thought our band was dead when we FIRST started making this lol, it was going to be released under a name Divergent Paths with all fake drums and just me and Mike, but our drummer heard the demos and agreed it should be Out of Service, which I was grateful for because I really didn't want to start over as a band haha. I also think that this is a natural progression from The Ground Beneath Me, even though its a heavier sound.
Mike started screaming after I sent him some youtube videos on how to scream properly LOL, he had never done it before and then he figured it out and it was like this whole new tool box for us to play with, a lot of fun.
All the guitars for the record were recorded on a Tweed 59 Bassman amp, with a Nashville Telecaster guitar, and a ton of pedals haha.
Thank you so much for anyone who checks it out or supports us!
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