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Release Date: February 22nd, 2011
Record Label: Roadrunner
My rating:
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DevilDriver are ready to release their fifth studio album "Beast". They've used a different producer for each of their four albums till date, and the trend continues, with Mark Lewis stepping in for this one. It's an interesting aspect because I feel it contributes towards creating a sound that's unique to that particular record alone. According to what the band members have been saying in interviews, it promises to be their heaviest record till date, certainly heavier than the previous effort "Pray For Villains". With that in mind, I gave the album a few spins.
"Dead To Rights" delivers the promise straightaway, and is a furious start to the album. The most standout feature of this tune is the drumming, decorated with blasts and a pounding double bass sound. The next track "Bring The Fight (To The Floor)" maintains the aggression and much of the same in terms of the musical elements incorporated, while raising the tempo further. More double bass goodness follows in "Hardened", complimented by Dez Fafara's vocals that range from a typically harsh tone to an almost guttural sound at times. In fact, this is my favorite track on the album, as it's easily the most full-sounding tune, giving each member of the band an opportunity to do his thing.
"Shitlist" is a mid-tempo tune that suits it's positioning as track 4 on the album, and boasts of some rather nicely crafted guitar riffs and solos. "Coldblooded" is a track that takes a while to build up, and it's the guitar solo two-thirds of the way in, single-handedly triggering the song to life. "You Make Me Sick" is a similarly paced tune but a lot richer musically, and probably does enough to justify itself as the centerpiece of the album. "Talons Out (Teeth Sharpened)" is another drum-heavy track and it's actually the drum sound that seems to be at the forefront of the band's collective effort on this tune, even though Jeff and Mike have chimed in with neat solos. Other than track number 3, "Blur" piqued my interest because of its variations in tempo. Its main riff creates a stop-start effect, and it should turn out to be a great live song and I'm hoping it's included in their set on future tours.
"The Blame Game" offers much of the same as its predecessors and is one of those tunes that 'go with the flow'. It leads into a very interesting tune, "Black Soul Choir" which is actually a cover of 16 Horsepower, a country band. I've heard the original, and as charming as it is, it's safe to say that DevilDriver's extreme metal twist would go down better among metalheads. "Crowns Of Creation" and "Lend Myself To The Night" are the most guitar-oriented, melodic tracks on the album and bring a rather curious end to an otherwise extremely heavy album.
The only negative in my opinion is the mix, which comes as a surprise because it's been handled by none other than Andy Sneap. I feel that Fafara's vocals aren't as prominent in the mix as they should be, and are slightly drained out by the music, specially the drums and guitars.
The tracks that stand out to me instantly are "Dead To Rights", "Hardened", "Blur", "Black Soul Choir" and "Crowns Of Creation", so I would recommend these straightaway, while the others might take you a couple of listens.
Overall, this is DevilDriver's most brutal album to date, owing largely to John Boecklin's drums and Jon Miller's bass adding the brutality element, while Jeff and Mike on guitars, and Dez on vocals combine with them excellently well to result in their most well-rounded effort. Without a doubt, this will attract extreme metal fans like never before, as the album is as close to straight-up death metal as DevilDriver have ever come.
A crushing composition that has the potential to turn into a beast on its own.
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