Former Coal Chamber frontman's band Devildriver hit all the right spots.
I was curious to hear Devildriver's second release "The Fury Of Our Makers Hand". Devildriver are a band I've seen cropping up a lot recently in recent years whether it be in the music press or on the 2004 US Ozzfest so naturally I was interested to hear if their music lived up to the attention they were receiving. Thankfully, for the most part, it does.
Although I was not a fan of Fafara's previous nu-metal band Coal Chamber his vocals managed not to irritate me on this record so much as before, ranging from harsh screeches to guttural grunts he manages to change his style for whatever the music demands. The guitars provided by Jeff Kendrick and Mike Spreitzer are constantly entertaining although never innovative and in many songs I could not hear the need for two guitarists. The drums provided by John Boecklin are also constantly illuminating and rather than the usual drums provided by most American bands of the moment the drums provided on this album veer on the faster and more brutal side hinting at even a small Black metal influence.
Album opener "End of the Line" is a good example of this, a gentle guitar based opening soon kicks off into brutal uncompromising metal but without seeming like the sort of Gimmicky style of "Quiet...Quiet...Quiet...LOUD" that so many other bands fail to pull of. Another album highlight is "Grined" consisting of a pulsing relentless guitar rhythm mixed with Dez Fafara's furious vocals. The only real track on the album that could be considered weak is "Sin & Sacrifice" simply because it doesn't offer anything that previous tracks have not and feels like the band are treading on the same ground again. Naturally all these tracks have crisp and clear production provided by well known metal producer Colin Richardson who has produced in the past such bands as Machine Head and Fear Factory.
And the bad? Well I cannot make the complaint that there is a lack of variety as this it not strictly speaking true as there was enough difference musically between each song to dispel such a criticism. I think the real weakness is a lack of tone, although the music is varied generally you get the impression that the band are still hitting the same idea over and over again and in the end it translates into a feeling that the band could really have stretched their song writing muscles a bit more.
Overall I found this to be an enjoyable album regardless of the fact that it was quite outside the usual borders of the music I enjoy; An accomplished feat by any band. This is an album any fan of modern American heavy metal should look into picking up and enjoying.