by DAN SOUTHALL
DEVILDRIVER have been on the backburner for vocalist and mainman Dez Fafara as he resurrected his other well known band, Coal Chamber, for numerous tours for the last few years, as well as fighting COVID and its aftereffects that heavily affected him. But the time is right for his heavier side to come out, with the band completely re-constructed from the inside with only the return of bassist Jon Miller keeping any familiarity for older fans.
With nothing to lose and everything to prove, the band get to snappin’ necks immediately as “Dig Your Own Grave” comes storming out, new guitarists Gabe Mangold and Alex Lee laying heavy riffage all over the immediate blasts of new drummer Davier Pérez, stitched together in a way that is classic DevilDriver though with a further sense of purpose than the last few releases.
Lyrically, the onslaught of the opening four tracks read (and sound) as though Fafara is a renewed man and he wants to inspire his audience to be the same. Vocally he is at his strongest and possibly angriest here, hes rediscovered tone in his vocals causing my wife to blurt out that it sounded like “someone shit in his cereal – and he is PISSED”. A more honest assessment I don’t think you’ll find.
Things begin to change up around “In the Moonlight’ as Fafara opens with unfamiliar clean vocals, a welcome if intentionally off-putting change up. When the track does eventually ramp up, it is another obvious reflection on the tough three or four years that life has thrown Dez’s way. The first real guitar solo of the album crops its head up and works in so well with the half sung, half growled chorus. One of the best tracks DD have put forward since The Fury Of Our Makers Hand.
From here DevilDriver continue the aural assault with everything they have before throwing up another curiosity in the shape of acoustic, almost-ballad “Summoning Shadows”. That’s right, I called it an almost ballad, because whilst it isn’t always musically heavy, like the rest of this album there is a lyrical weight that feels more personal to Dez then anything he has ever put to record before across his entire career.Â
This album is by far and away the best thing that has been released under their banner since the maligned Beast album released in 2011, and incidentally the last album Jon Miller appeared on. Make of that little connection what you will I guess, but DevilDriver are back, and more pissed than ever.